


Recycled Dreams

by Yvette J (HowNovel)



Category: Starman (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2017-10-25 18:03:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 35,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/273186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowNovel/pseuds/Yvette%20J
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Paul and Scott meet up with two young figure skaters, they learn not only about this particular sport, but they come to realize that it is not all fun and glamor.This story took a lot of research to write, and I interviewed a friend of mine who is a former competitor/trainer.  I started writing it  around the time the Olympics took place.</p><p>Revised and updated story from original written in 1998.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recycled Dreams

  
**Recycled Dreams**  
By: Yvette J. 

Copyright © 1998, revised September 2014 All rights reserved. This story is a work of fiction based on characters and situations created in the 1984 feature film and 1986-87 television series, _STARMAN_. It is an amateur publication circulated without profit for the enjoyment of fellow fans. No infringement of existing copyrights is intended.  
---  
  
The Harrisburg, Michigan ice rink was filled to capacity. The city’s annual figure skating competition was in full swing. Two local sports reporters and a photographer were mingling with the crowd waiting for the day’s competition to begin. The skaters were separated by their genders for the final competition in the Novice Division. 12-year-old Stephanie Zimmerman stood next to her mother, Teresa, and waited for the final four skaters in the group of 16 to be called. She was one of the favorites to win in the ‘Ladies Event’, but after struggling in practice for the entire week with a triple Toe Loop, and touching the ice on it during the short program, she was now in second place behind a 13 year old named Patty Fischer.

Now was the time for her three-minute program. She had selected music from her favorite musical, _My Fair Lady_ and now it was the moment of truth. Her black and white skating outfit resembled the dress Audrey Hepburn wore in the movie, but instead of it being long and restrictive, it had a thin flowing skirt. She wore her blond hair in a tight bun and the make-up she wore made her look much older than she actually was. In five minutes the four skaters in the final group would take to the ice for their final warm-up.

Once the announcer’s voice was heard, the people in the stands began to cheer. It was time for Stephanie to take her six-minute warm-up. She took off her jacket and handed it to her mother who followed her doggedly towards the ice.

She glided out onto the ice, and began to warm up. The three other girls were also there, and she wondered if they were thinking the same things she was. She was quite nervous, but not about the competition, instead, she was worried about making a mistake which would send her mother into another tirade.

Ever since she began to skate back when she was five, one of her coaches made the crucial mistake of telling her mother that if she worked hard enough, she could one day compete at the Senior Level in a national competition. Now, she skated more for the satisfaction of her mother than for her own. In her heart of hearts, Stefanie wanted to have friends and do the things that other girls did. Patty Fischer was the only friend she had, and her contact with the other girl was strictly monitored and controlled by her mother because two girls were supposed to be rivals.

Stephanie began to practice her footwork during the warm-up. Generally, she would use the time to get used to the feeling of the ice beneath her feet and refrain from showing off. Once upon a time, she had enjoyed the feeling of competition, but now she despised it because she felt pressured into serving up a performance that would not anger or upset her mother.

At that moment, Patty whizzed past her. “Good luck, Stephy,” she called out.

Stephanie nodded and smiled, “You too, Patty.”

Here was a girl, who remained kind regardless of the rivalry between them and to her it did not matter who the better skater was. Stephanie really envied the fact that Patty had the freedom to be herself and not some molded ice princess that she felt she had to be.

When Stephanie finally turned around, she saw her mother standing along the railing. She was scowling at her daughter, and Stephanie’s brief smile disappeared. Sighing deeply she started to make her way to the railing as the announcer informed them that there would be only one minute left in the warm-up.

When she looked back over towards her mother, she executed a perfect triple Toe Loop, which had been shaky all week in practice. This brought a small smile to her mother’s face, but after a second, that disappeared.

The crowd cheered and Stephanie skated over to where her coach, Jake McCall was standing against the railing. He smiled kindly at her, but what she noticed was about three feet behind her coach, there was a teenage boy leaning against the railing, and he was smiling at her. She blushed self-consciously and attempted to concentrate on the words of her coach, but soon her gaze came to rest on the movements of the stranger who had smiled at her. _He must be someone special because he was hanging around the ‘kiss and cry’ area,_ she thought. This was nothing major as the local rink had simply roped off a section near the concession stand for the skaters to sit as their marks were being read.

“What’s wrong Stephy?” Jake was asking, his voice breaking into her thoughts.

She shook her head. “I don’t know, I guess my mom’s mad at me for speaking to Patty. But, Jake, she wished me luck, and I only returned the sentiment. I don’t understand why my mother doesn’t like Patty, she’s really nice.”

“Try and concentrate on your skating, okay.” Jake said to the girl, but he could see that her thoughts were about a thousand miles away. He could see the troubled look in her eyes, and knew that there was something wrong with her. Instead of focusing on the problems she was having, he smiled reassuringly at her. “I know it’s hard, but try to block out everything except what it is you have to do.”

“Skaters please clear the ice!” The voice of the announcer brought Stephanie back down to earth and she looked up at the kind green eyes of her coach.

“Listen, Stephy, you’re first, and that’s the best position to be in. If you want to win, you have to concentrate, but above winning you should have fun skating. Of all the things I have tried to teach you, enjoying yourself is the most important.” Jake squeezed the arm of the girl and once she had nodded, he watched as she skated to the center of the rink. Her three-minute presentation was about to begin, and for better or worse, this was it.

“On the ice, Stephanie Zimmerman!” the announcer said and this was her moment to move into position so that she could begin her routine.

The people in the stands began to cheer, but when she looked out at the crowd, she suddenly felt like a dot on a snowy mountain, and rather than feeling important, she felt insignificant and alone. She got into her starting position and waited for the music to start.

Once it began, she closed her eyes, and tried to remember the time when she really enjoyed figure skating. When she opened her eyes a second later, she began to skate.

During the routine, Teresa Zimmerman approached Jake as Stephanie executed her first jump, a triple Salchow. The people politely applauded when she landed the jump successfully.

When the applause died down, Teresa spoke to her daughter’s coach. “What do you think you’re doing allowing Stephanie to talk to her rivals?” Teresa’s voice sounded about as cold and chilling as the ice, which Stephanie was skating on.

“I didn’t see anything wrong with her wishing Patty luck,” Jake said. “Stephy is a 12-year-old girl, and most of the girls I’ve coached have been friends with each other. It’s important for these kids to have friends even if they are competing against one another. With her heavy training schedule, there isn’t time for her to meet other teenagers and if they become friends with others in the sport, then they share something in common.”

“Mr. McCall, I didn’t hire you to be philosophical, I hired you to train my daughter to be a good skater. I don’t like that she talks to Patty Fischer when she is supposed to be skating against her today. And as her coach, I think you should at least be concerned about it,” Teresa’s voice became even icier, and she ended the exchange by diverting her attention back onto the ice as her daughter executed a double Lutz.

Jake said nothing. He believed that Stephanie’s only hope to become a successful skater would be for her to have a coach who wasn’t an arrogant snob like her mother. He had seen far too many skaters have breakdowns because their parents tried to live out their own dreams through them and he did not want to see that happen with Stephanie.

He refrained from answering Teresa’s accusations with any facts. The woman was just impossible to deal with. If it had been any other girl but Stephanie, he would have quit his job as her coach a long time ago.

He turned away from Teresa to see Stephanie finish her routine with a flying camel spin. He smiled broadly as she stood in the center of the rink and took her bows. A number of spectators tossed flowers onto the ice and Stephanie grabbed a bouquet that had slid over next to her feet. She waved the flowers at the audience.

Once off the ice, she headed towards the ‘kiss and cry’ area where she would be getting the rest of the flowers, which had been collected, and receive her marks for the performance. She glanced over and saw the young man again, as well as an older man holding a camera.

Once in the designated area, she sat down in the chair between her mother and her coach and waited for her scores to come up. As everyone guessed, she received fairly high marks for the performance and was now in first place. The man with the camera took a couple of pictures of Stephanie after her scores were read. Once the scores were out, Teresa Zimmerman ushered her daughter quickly out of the area and behind a large curtain. This separated the rink from the lobby, which extended into a hallway and led outside.

Stephanie looked back in the direction where she had seen the teenage boy, but instead of making eye contact with him, her gaze came to rest on the soft blue eyes of the man holding the camera.  
  
---  
  
Paul Forrester was still holding his camera as the young skater left through the thick curtain. His attention diverted back to the ice where another skater was about to begin her program. He returned quickly to the railing, followed by his teenage son, Scott. The two of them began to watch as Patty Fischer began her long program.

“How long do we have to stay here?” Scott asked, his feet beginning to tire from standing around. “I need to find a place where I can sit down.”

“Why don’t you go into the hallway behind that curtain? I saw some benches there when we came in.” Paul offered. “I have to be here for at least another two hours.”

Scott groaned, “oh great.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I don’t think I like hanging around here, Dad. It’s not that the skaters are nasty, but some of these other people are. Did you see that woman who was sitting with Stephanie Zimmerman? Her eyes could have burnt holes through solid concrete.”

“I noticed, that young girl did not look very happy, did she?” Paul mused.

“Yeah, her mother reminded me of Snow White’s evil step-mother,” Scott grumbled.

“Should I know her?” Paul asked as he looked away from the events on the ice, to stare bewildered at his son.

“It’s a fairy tale, Dad, you know, fiction,” Scott began. “In the story, the step-mother tried to kill her because she was more beautiful. It really has nothing to do with this I’m just saying that the woman looked pretty mean is all.”

Paul sighed but nodded. “Yes, I noticed that.” Instead of elaborating, he brought the camera to his face and took five or six more photos of Patty. After her final jump, a triple Toe Loop, the music ended and the crowd in the stands began applauding once again.

Patty smiled graciously at them and bowed. Once the cheering died down, Paul made a suggestion. “Why don’t you go and get some nachos or something to eat, and I’ll meet you outside by the car when the competition is over?”

Scott nodded as Patty was skating towards the railing. “I think I just want to sit down for awhile. I’ll be on one of those benches you mentioned earlier.”

“Okay, you know where I’ll be.” Paul said as Scott left behind the same curtain that he had seen Stephanie and the other two people exiting.

As he made his way down the hall, his mind began to drift. He had never seen figure skating before, except on television, and he really had never considered that a girl who was only two years younger than himself would be out there executing such complicating jumps. He could not tell the difference between the jumps, but he figured that they must be pretty difficult. He sat down on one of the benches and watched as steady groups of people passed by him. After a few minutes he heard a voice break into his thoughts.

“Hi.”

He looked up and saw the girl who was addressing him. “Hi.” he said smiling as he recognized her. She was wearing no make-up and had changed clothes but he still knew who she was. “You’re Stephanie Zimmerman! I saw you skate, you were awesome!”

She smiled and nodded. “Thank you. I noticed you when I was talking to my coach. You’re with the photographer, right?”

“Yeah, he’s my Dad and has been taking pictures of the competition. I’m not really sure who hired him, but since it is Saturday, I figured I could tag along. I guess you know about those kinds of things,” Scott said.

“Not really, my coach said that there might be some press people around today,” she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s not so common for the press to come to these kinds of events. I’ve never seen any of them here until today.”

Scott shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know very much about figure skating, I must admit, I only know about what I’ve seen on TV.”

The Seniors, yeah, they’re really good,” Stephanie said.

“The Seniors?” Scott asked as he looked at her.

“They’re the ones that compete in the Olympics,” Stephanie explained. “Then there are Junior, Novice and Pre-Novice. Patty and I are in the Novice Division.”

“Is that like levels?" Scott asked.

Stephanie nodded, “yeah, it is.” As she was speaking, she looked around, and once she noticed that no one nearby she sighed with relief. “You know who I am, but what’s your name?”

“Scott,” he said simply. Just as he was about to speak again the announcement could be heard as they posted Patty’s scores.

“I have to see how she did, she’s one of my friends,” Stephanie said as both of them rushed towards the curtains at the end of the hallway where the scores were being announced. Stephanie smiled when she saw that Patty’s score was about as high as her own. But, when they announced that Patty was in second place, she sighed deeply.

“What’s the matter,” Scott asked when he saw a shadow cross her face. He did not understand what was happening, until he heard an excited squeal coming from behind them.

Within seconds, the woman that he had seen in the ‘kiss and cry’ area rushed over to Stephanie and wrapped her arms around her. “You won, you won!” her voice was high with excitement. Stephanie glanced over at Scott who smiled weakly.

“But, Mom, there are still two more skaters that haven’t skated yet,” Stephanie muttered hoping that the woman would release her from the embrace.

Teresa apparently did not listen, and continued to hug her daughter excitedly.

“Congratulations, Stephy,” Jake offered coming from behind them. “You skated very well, today. You should be really proud of yourself.”

“You are making a blatant understatement, Mr. McCall, she was wonderful.” Teresa finally released her daughter. Scott could see the girl’s expression completely change when her mother approached and he did not like what he saw.

Seconds later, Patty came through the curtain and smiled when she saw Stephanie. “Congratulations, Stephy, you were really great.” Appreciation was evident on Patty's face. But her smile vanished when Teresa hastily grabbed Stephanie’s hand and the woman practically dragged her away from Patty and Scott. Stephanie sighed sadly and glanced back in their direction with an agonized look in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry’ were the words she mouthed to the other girl.

Patty looked at Scott shyly. “I hope you don’t think all skaters or their families behave like this,” she offered sadly as Stephanie was ushered away. “It’s absolutely shameful.”

Scott shook his head still trying to understand why Stephanie’s mother was so mean to Patty when she had simply offered her congratulations.

Patty shrugged her shoulders. “Her mother is such a witch,” she grumbled as her coach emerged from behind the curtain, followed closely by Patty’s father, Brad. “What harm does it do to at least say ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’?”

Scott nodded, “I saw that woman before Stephanie skated. What’s the story with her? She looks like she could crack ice with her eyes.”

“It’s no secret; Teresa Zimmerman does not like Stephanie to be friends with the other skaters,” answered the coach, a young woman in her late 20’s. “I used to be her coach as well, and she’s really a good skater. Then about a year ago I got fired after Mrs. Zimmerman found out I had taken the job coaching Patty as well. She felt that I should devote all my time to Stephanie, and not to her rival.”

Patty looked helplessly at her father who was standing near the curtain. “Skaters don’t generally have as many opportunities to have friends as other kids do. It’s part of the commitment that they make when they start skating. The thing is Patty has always tried to swing friends and her skating.” he explained, and Patty nodded.

“I love to skate,” Patty explained, “and one day I want to go to the Olympics. But, I also realize how lucky I am because my mom and dad are really great about it. If one day I wanted to quit, they would say okay. I guess they’re supportive about it because we all know how much it entails. I’m just someone who is willing to try.” She paused and after a second, she continued to speak. “Stephanie’s mother is not nice to any of the other skaters and a lot of them avoid her because of her mother’s stupid attitude. Patty put on the jacket her father offered.

“I don’t get it,” Scott began, “if a skater loves the sport, then what’s wrong with being friends with other people who are active in it and love it as well?”

Patty’s coach smiled, she liked what the boy was saying. “You have a very idealistic attitude about it, but unfortunately, to some parents and also some skaters, winning in competition is more important than anything else, including having friends or sportsmanship.”

Scott shook his head, “I don’t think Stephanie’s like that.”

“We all know she’s not,” Patty answered, “the problem is her mother’s attitude is starting to show in her skating, as well as her stance on the ice.”

“How do you mean?” Scott wanted to know. “All I noticed was that she looked kind of tired.”

“That was stress, and that kind of pressure can be overwhelming on a young skater, particularly in the ‘Ladies Event’. Over the past few years, this competition has become very, very intense,” the woman answered. “I was a skater in the Senior Division, and I remember competing in the Nationals. I placed near the end, but the pressure was unbearable. On top of having to compete under that strain, Stephanie has the added pressure of her mother’s attitude and expectations. It’s obvious that she’s not happy, but she’s only 12 and no one can expect her to stand up to her mother. I’m afraid that one day, she’s going to have a nervous breakdown.”

Scott shook his head, “I had no idea.”

“Gilda, would it be okay if Scott came to one of my training sessions, even if it’s just for a little while?” Patty asked. “I know that outsiders don’t come to the practices, but it would be kind of fun and it would give him a chance to see that it’s not all fun and flair, but a lot of hard work.”

“I never believed that it wasn’t hard work,” Scott said. “But, wouldn’t it be a distraction having me around during practice?”

The woman smiled and nodded as her attention diverted to Scott. “You are welcome to come, but it’s not as exciting as the competition. I think that Patty’s right, it will give you the idea about how much work it takes for someone to reach certain levels as a figure skater. What’s your name again?”

“Scott Hayden,” he said.

“Okay, Scott Hayden, here’s the deal,” Gilda began. “Patty has a day off tomorrow, so we'll get together on Monday at ten.”

“Perfect, we have an in-service day at school,” Scott said.

“Then you won’t miss school,” she said.

“Okay, thanks,” he offered. “I’ve always wondered about the sport, and I appreciate you going out of your way to teach me.”

“It’s nothing, Scott,” Gilda said. “I learned a long ago that young skaters need a break now and again and it is not often that Patty takes a break to have fun.”

Scott laughed looking at the girl appreciatively.

“This is going to be so cool,” Patty said enthusiastically.

Brad walked over to the three of them. “Listen, I don’t mean to change the subject, but after they announce the winners, why don’t we go out to lunch? You’re free to join us Scott, if you’d like.”

“That sounds really great, Mr. Fischer, but I have to ask my dad. He’s photographing the events and said that he has to stay until the ‘Men’s Competition’ is over.” Scott said. “I’m supposed to meet him afterwards.”

“I’m sorry, Brad, but I can’t," Gilda said, “I’ve already made a commitment to meet with Sarah Bingham’s family about her training schedule. I will see you for practice Monday morning, Patty. If you want to come, Scott, be here at 10, and I’ll inform the people here that you will be coming.”

“You’re not staying for the final announcement, Gilda?” Patty asked.

“Of course I’m staying,” Gilda said, smiling. “This will be your first medal under my coaching, Patty, and I wouldn’t miss that for the world. I just can’t go have lunch with you is all.”

Patty sighed with relief. “I’ll even find you a pair of skates on Monday.”

Scott’s eyes widened, “oh boy, what have I gotten myself into?”

Patty and her father both chuckled.

“Well, Scott, if you want to come to training, you will have to put on a pair of skates and let Patty show you some simple moves,” Gilda said.

Patty smiled at the handsome teenager, “don’t worry, Scott, we’ll go easy on you. The jumps will come later.”

Scott’s face flushed and the four of them laughed.  
  
---  
  
Back in the arena, Paul was dusting the lens of his camera when Scott approached. “Hey Dad, is it okay if I go to lunch with one of the skaters?”

Paul turned around and nodded when he heard is son’s voice. “I have to take pictures of the Men's competition too, and then I have to take the film down the street and drop it off at the paper.”

Scott nodded, “yeah, I know, but Patty Fischer’s dad invited me to join them for lunch after they give out the awards in her division. Is it okay if I go?”

“I think it would be fine. I’d like to meet them before you go anywhere, though,” Paul said as he put the small cloth back inside his camera bag. He did not like his son going off with strangers and he concluded that it was his parenting instincts kicking in again. He felt immensely proud of the fact that he was doing well as a parent to his half-human teenage son.

“Hey, there she is,” Scott said as he pointed over to where Patty Fischer was standing next to her father. He waved at her and she approached them.

“Mr. Hayden?” Patty asked extending her hand.

“Paul Forrester,” Paul corrected her with a smile taking her hand and shaking it. “It’s nice to meet you Patty. You skated very well and you made it look so easy.”

“Thank you, this was my first competition here,” Patty explained. “My family moved here from California last year.”

Paul nodded smiling. “Did you skate competitively in California?”

“Yeah I did and it was much harder there,” she confessed. “I think it was because there are so many talented people out there. It isn’t that the skaters here aren’t talented, it’s because there are a lot more skaters.” She smiled broadly, “when we moved here, my father found a job in his field, he’s a Chemical Engineer. He wanted to have a job that could help pay for my training. In California, there weren’t too many openings and he was working as a Technician,” Patty explained fondly remembering the sacrifices her parents have made for her.

“That’s really great how you have such a supportive family,” Scott said.

Patty nodded, “yeah, I know. In this sport, the more support one has the better. I’ve seen so many girls lose it because they have overbearing parents or coaches. Gilda said that a lot of the parents or coaches try to live out their dreams through these kids, and that’s not fair. My parents are great, they support but they don’t push, they never have.”

Paul cocked his head to one side, “how did you become so determined if you don’t have that kind of pressure?”

“I don’t know, Gilda said that it’s probably my own stubbornness about it.” Patty said, “That’s probably the only logical answer. Maybe it’s also because my coach in California wanted me to succeed so that he’d get more jobs.”

Paul nodded. “Is this why you are concerned about Stephanie Zimmerman and her mother’s attitude towards you and the other skaters?”

“How’d you know about that?” Patty asked.

“I told him,” Scott said, his words a quick cover for his father’s ability to telepathically sense what the young skater was feeling when he shook her hand. He looked at his father and shook his head slightly.

Patty smiled and nodded oblivious to the silent communication between Paul and Scott. “I guess it’s pretty obvious that Stephanie’s mother doesn’t like me, and it’s really stupid. I mean, I can skate and be friendly without it affecting my performance, why can’t she?” She sighed sadly, “I don’t think Stephanie like skating much anymore. I watched her performance, and I know it was better than mine, but the energy wasn’t there.”

Paul nodded; he had also noticed Stephanie’s lackluster appearance after her scores were read. He also could not help but notice how the other girls avoided Stephanie whenever her mother was around.

He smiled reassuringly, “I think Stephanie is very lucky to have you for a friend.”

Patty smiled weakly, “thank you.”

At that moment, Brad approached them, “I take it you’re Scott’s father?”

“Yes, I’m Paul Forrester,” he responded as he extended his hand to Patty’s father.

“Brad Fischer, it’s nice to meet you. We were talking to your son outside.” He grasped Paul’s outstretched hand and shook it before turning and facing his daughter. “Patty, you came in second, and Gilda wants to see you before you get your medal.”

“I did?” Patty said as her eyes widened. “Wow!”

“Congratulations,” Paul offered.

“Yeah, that’s awesome, I’m so happy for you,” Scott answered.

Patty nodded, but instead of acknowledging Paul’s words, she looked at Scott briefly before rushing off. “See you later, Scott.”

“She must really be excited,” Brad offered. “Normally she says ‘thank you’ when she’s congratulated.” He laughed. “Sorry about that.”

Paul smiled and nodded, “that’s all right. It would seem that your daughter has the same energy that my son has.”

Scott looked at his father with a sheepish grin on his face.

“Would you like to join us for lunch after the awards ceremony for Patty’s division is over?” Brad asked.

“I would, but I have to take pictures for the next competition and I’m not certain when that will be over,” Paul said.

“Well, if it means anything to you, it will take Patty at least an hour to change and by the time she’s ready, the other competition will probably be over, and then you can join us,” Brad suggested.

“Does it really take an hour for a skater to get changed to leave?” Scott asked.

“I can’t say for sure about most skaters, but my Patty takes quite a while to get changed after a competition. She’s a perfectionist, like her mother. She even does her own ironing, and polishes her own skates. She’s a dedicated skater, and she adores the sport.”

“That’s really something,” Paul said.

“I’ll say it is, she’s taken half of the video tapes in our house, and has tapes nothing on them but figure skating competitions. When she can’t skate, she watches it on TV.”

“Wow, that is dedication, Mr. Fischer,” Scott offered.

Brad nodded, “I remember last year some months after we moved here. She had the flu for about two weeks. She was so mad that her mother wouldn’t allow her to go to training,” he chuckled at the memory. “She was in her bathrobe doing footwork on the kitchen floor. I actually grabbed the Camcorder and secretly taped her. Three weeks later, I popped the tape in the VCR, and she just about killed me.”

Scott laughed heartedly. “What happened then?”

“I took the tape to Gilda as a joke, but after she watched it, she told Patty that if she ever overexerted herself when she is sick, she’d quit as her coach,” Brad said. “I felt like such a stool pigeon even though I initially done it as a joke.”

Paul’s eyes widened and he looked to his son for a definition. When Scott gave him the familiar ‘I’ll explain later’ look; his attention diverted back to Brad’s story.

“Anyway, Patty promised that she wouldn’t do that again if she gets sick. Instead, we agreed to set the TV and VCR up in her room so that she could watch it from her bed,” Brad concluded.

Scott smiled, “I think that’s really great.”

Brad nodded, “Gilda is really a great coach, very firm, and she doesn’t take half-efforts. She doesn’t like it when Patty’s distracted with other worries when she skates, but she’s also the most laid-back coach Patty ever had. Mandy and I get along well with her too, which I think is also important. Patty adores her, maybe it's because she’s younger, and knows how teenage girls think. It’s hard to say for sure, but the two of them are very compatible.”

Paul looked over at the rink and up at the stands where the people were sitting, “I think that your daughter is very talented.”

Brad chuckled, “Me too, and even if she wasn’t my daughter; I’d have to say that of all the girls I’ve met, she’s probably the most level-headed and down to earth.” Brad changed the subject when he saw Patty waving him over to where she was standing, talking to Gilda. “Listen, when Patty’s finished, we’ll come back here, meet, and see if you’re done. If you’re not, then we’ll go, and I’ll drive Scott home afterwards.”

Paul nodded, “okay.”

Brad walked back over to where Patty and Gilda were standing deep in conversation with one of the other girls, Sarah Bingham. Sarah had come in third in the division. Stephanie stood off to the side away from the other two girls, and her mother eyed Patty disapprovingly.

Paul glanced back over at his son. “I like them,” he said.

Scott nodded, “yeah, they’re really cool. It’s too bad you didn’t meet Gilda, she’s really interesting.”

“So, how did you happen to meet Patty Fischer anyway? I thought you had gone outside to rest,” Paul said.

Scott explained what had happened when he had left and added that he had been invited to attend Patty’s practice session in two days and asked if it would be all right if he attended.

Paul nodded, “you really like her, don’t you?”

“Yeah, she’s a lot of fun, and she’s a real babe, too,” Scott grinned at his father sheepishly. “Maybe it’s just because she’s got her hair up and is made up, I don’t really know, I just can’t believe she’s 13, she looks older.”

Paul nodded as the announcement of the winners resonated through the small rink. First Stephanie skated out and the people cheered. Second, Patty skated out and took her place next to Stephanie, as the cheers continued. Finally, Sarah Bingham came out to retrieve her third place medal. In her excitement, Sara reached out and hugged Patty.

Stephanie looked at the other two girls, isolation evident in her face.

Paul took several pictures of the skaters but lowered his camera when he saw Stephanie's face. The poor girl, she looked as though she would have loved to be anywhere but where she was. He couldn't bring himself to take her picture, when she was so overwhelmingly sad. Finally, he gave her a warm smile, and once her expression changed from a frown to a small smile, he took her picture.

As Paul and Scott watched the events on the ice, Teresa Zimmerman approached Scott, who was standing a few steps away from his father watching. Neither father nor son noticed her approaching until her icy voice broke into his thoughts.

“You were the boy talking to my daughter, weren’t you?” she asked the usual iciness in her voice.

Scott nodded, “yeah.”

“Why are you even here?” she demanded. “I’ve never seen you with any of the other skaters, so you can’t be family or friends of anyone here.”

“My dad is taking pictures of the competition, and I came along with him,” Scott said trying to keep the obvious discomfort out of his voice. When he opened his mouth to speak once again, his gaze locked with that of his father. Paul was silently shaking his head and once Scott understood his father’s silent communication, he shrugged his shoulders and said nothing else.

“I see,” Teresa nodded and took a few steps towards Paul. “Get some good shots of Stephanie; she’s the best skater out there, not Patty Fischer.” She whispered in Paul’s ear. Her hand brushed against his arm, but not before he felt the emotions that emanated from the woman.

When Paul turned around to respond, Teresa was already making her way towards a man who was waiting by the curtain.

Scott looked at his father, “Patty was right, what a witch.”

Paul sighed deeply trying to block what he felt. “There’s more to her than just someone you would call a witch,” he whispered. “I’ll tell you about it at home, okay?”

Scott nodded wondering what it was Paul was going to tell him.

As the Starman turned away from the woman’s retreating back, he focused his attention on the events, which were taking place on the ice. He snapped several more pictures of the three winners until they came off the ice. He then unwound the film in the camera and packed it in his camera bag. Next, he removed a new package of film and loaded his camera for the next event. When he saw the Zamboni come out to resurface the ice, he watched curiously.

Scott made his way over towards the group of people and waited for Patty and Stephanie so he could congratulate them once again.

Upon seeing Scott, Stephanie smiled weakly and came slowly towards him. Within a split second, Teresa had muscled herself between them and grabbed her daughter’s hand. “We’re going home now, Stephanie. Go change.”

Stephanie nodded sadly, and walked through the curtain without looking back.

Unaware to Teresa, Paul had seen the event take place as well and followed the young skater through the curtain. He was determined to talk to her.

“Young man, stay away from my daughter,” was all Teresa said to him. She walked over towards the stands and waited.

Scott was left fuming.  
  
---  
  
In the lobby, Paul had caught up with Stephanie. “Stephanie, wait,” he called out. When she stopped and turned around, he could see the tears brimming from beneath her eyes. “Are you okay?”

The girl nodded, but after looking into Paul’s gentle eyes, she shook her head and sat down on the bench. The held back tears began to stream down her cheeks as she bent over to take her skates off. Succeeding, she stared down at her feet for several moments before raising her head and looking into Paul’s sympathetic blue eyes.

“It’s not easy for you, is it?” Paul asked softly.

Stephanie’s lower lip began to tremble and Paul knew that she was trying to remain strong but her strength was wavering. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks, and the make-up she wore left black streaks on her cheeks and dark smudges beneath her eyes.

“How old are you?” Paul asked, reaching inside his pocket and pulling out a tissue. This he handed to her.

“Twelve,” emerged from her lips as she tried to haphazardly wipe the make-up out of her eyes.

He kneeled down in front of her placed his hands on her trembling shoulders to calm her. “You’re just a child,” he said compassionately as he felt her pent up emotions. “It’s never easy to live up to other people’s expectations, is it?”

“I-I have to go, my mother is waiting,” Stephanie mumbled, not bothering to move away from him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Paul asked. “I’ll listen.”

“How can I...my mother?” her voice trembled but gave off the essence of absolute hopelessness.

“Come outside for a few minutes, I think you need a little time away from all of this.” Paul stood up, and offered her his hand.

She looked up at him with unshakable fear in her eyes. It was abundantly clear that she did not know what to do. Given what he had sensed about her when he had touched her shoulders, Paul could tell that her fear was not of him, but rather of her mother. If Teresa found out that she was outside speaking to a stranger rather than getting dressed to go home, that she would get angry again.

“I won’t hurt you,” he offered. “My name is Paul. Scott, the boy you spoke to, is my son.”

“I know, but you’re not the person I’m afraid of,” Stephanie said softly. Instead of speaking further she reached a trembling hand out and grasped hold of Paul’s offered hand. After several seconds had passed she stood up and allowed him to lead her outside.

Once outside, Stephanie sank to her knees, the feelings came out in a torrent of tears.

Paul got down on the ground next to her as he pulled another tissue from his pocket, and gently slipped it into her hand. “You don’t like skating, do you?”

Stephanie shook her head, “is it that obvious?”

“Only here,” Paul pointed to her eyes.

“I don’t understand,” she mumbled.

“You don’t have the sparkle in your eyes that Patty has, and there’s something else, you don’t smile,” Paul answered softly. “You didn’t smile on the ice when you were skating.”

Stephanie sighed deeply looking at him, “I used to like it, but that was back when Patty and I trained together and we could be friends.”

Paul nodded.

“Please, Paul, don’t tell my mother any of this, she’d kill me.” She looked at the door leading back inside. When she saw her mother walking through the hallway, she swallowed the lump, which formed in her throat and stood up. “I-I have to go. If she finds me out here, I’ll get into even more trouble.”

She stood up and once her mother had disappeared back behind the curtain, she slipped back inside, and broke into a literal run to get to the safety of the dressing room.

Paul was left standing outside alone. He sighed deeply as he made his way back inside.

When he saw Teresa Zimmerman sitting at the stands, an idea suddenly came to mind. He approached the woman. “Mrs. Zimmerman?”

“Yes,” came her icy answer. Upon recognizing who had addressed her, her voice became even more demanding. “You’re the boy’s father? What do you want?”

“Yes, Scott is my son, but I want to talk to you about your daughter,” Paul offered.

“Well if you are trying to persuade me to allow my daughter to see the boy, you can forget it.” Teresa said with conviction. “Stephanie has training.”

“It has nothing to do with my son; it has to do with your daughter. As you know, I work as a photographer, and I would like to take some pictures of her for a portfolio I need to put together, and I wanted to get your permission to do this.” Paul said.

“Well, of course you can,” her voice abruptly changed and she sounded as sweet as sugar. Paul’s eyebrows unconsciously arched when he heard the change in her speech.

“Thank you,” he said. “When does she have time?”

“How about tomorrow morning at ten?” Teresa offered.

Paul nodded, “all right, I’ll meet her here at ten.”

“We’ll be here,” she answered assuredly.

“I don’t mean to appear rude, but why can’t she come alone? I can take the photos when she’s in training with her coach.” Paul knew that if he arranged to take pictures with Teresa around, then he would not get another opportunity to speak with Stephanie and possibly help her.

“I am her mother, Mister, and I go where she goes,” Teresa’s voice once again emerged laced in hostility. This conversation was clearly over.  
  
---  
  
Scott was still standing near the rink when a hand fell on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Patty, her eyes expressing the sympathy that her words could not.

“I saw everything,” she said softly knowing very well that Scott was attracted to the other girl. “It’s so awful, that woman’s got Stephy wound up like a spring,” Patty grumbled noticing Scott's worried expression. “It’s so embarrassing.”

“What happened, Hon?” Brad asked once he had returned to his daughter’s side.

“Stephanie’s mother, what else? I think she’s more afraid of her mother than she is of competing,” Patty said wiping frustrated tears out of her eyes. “When we first moved here, Stephy was the first person to welcome me. We both train here now, but at different times. Do you remember how it was Daddy, she and I used to have so much fun?”

Brad nodded as his daughter continued to speak.

“We would come here during ‘free skate’ and do jumps and stuff together.” Patty looked at Scott's bewildered face. “A ‘free skate’ is when they let the skaters practice together. Now it’s like she’s skating for her mother’s prestige rather than her own.”

Paul approached them, his camera bag hanging casually over his shoulder. “Hello.”

Scott looked up at his father, his eyes unhappy. Paul could see that his son was concerned for both the skaters he had met that afternoon, but instead of commenting on this, he remained silent.

Patty took a deep breath. “Do you know what really bothers me, Daddy? I’m supposed to be happy, I won second place, and I should feel really great about it.”

Brad nodded, “I know, it’s because you’re a good friend, Patty. If Stephanie only knew just how good of a friend you are.”

“But her mother won’t even let me within three feet of her,” Patty whispered. “It’s cruel to do this to someone, and I can’t see why she tries to keep us separated.”

Paul took a deep breath. “Don’t be sad, Patty, sometimes people mistake their love for others as blind expectations. People like Mrs. Zimmerman are essentially doing everything to enhance their own self esteem rather than the self worth of a child who desperately needs it.” He offered her a comforting smile. “I know all of this is hard, but you are a good friend and that’s what Stephanie needs now more than ever.”

“Do you think that’s what Mrs. Zimmerman is doing to Stephanie?” Scott asked.

Paul nodded, “Yes I do.” He did not go into any lengthy explanations.

“Wait, I think I know that Stephanie wants to be your friend, Patty. When we were talking in the lobby, Stephanie interrupted me because she wanted to go and check the scores. When they posted your scores, she said that she wanted to see how you did because you are one of her friends. After she walked over to the curtain, I had this feeling that she wanted you to win,” Scott said.

“Really?” Patty asked as she felt the tears brimming from beneath her eyes.

Scott nodded, “uh-huh, it was right before you came through the curtains to congratulate her."

Patty smiled through her tears, and looked from her father, to Paul to Scott. “Thanks Scott, I feel a little bit better now.” Although the young skater was still worried, she was somewhat relieved to know that Stephanie still considered her to be a friend. For now, that would have to be enough.

“That’s my girl,” Brad said. “Are you in the mood for some lunch now?”

Patty nodded, “Yeah, I probably need to get something to eat.”

“Me too, I could eat a house,” Brad said laughing. “Aside from that, I think we should toast your great finish today. You do realize that this means you’re going to compete in the Regional Competition, don’t you?”

“I completely forgot about that,” Patty said as a genuine smile replaced the frown. “All I wanted was to have a good finish. Then I guess we do have to celebrate.” Patty began to pull bobby pins out of her hair. “But first, I think I better get changed into something more appropriate. Not to mention washing this guck off my face.”

Scott looked over at her hot pink skating dress and laughed. “I don’t know; you would probably create a new fashion trend walking into the restaurant wearing that.”

“Or cause a riot,” Brad quipped and they all laughed.

“I have to get back inside for the ‘Men’s competition’, it’s about to start.” Paul said refraining from mentioning anything about his conversations with Stephanie or Teresa.

Brad nodded, “I have to call my wife and arrange when we’re going to meet.”

“She’s not here?” Scott asked.

“No, she had to stay home and take care of Patty’s little sister.” Brad explained. “Normally, we get a baby-sitter so we can both attend the competitions, but little Erika has been having the sniffles, and Mandy didn’t want to leave her.”

Scott nodded as he watched his father made his way back over towards the railing of the rink.

“So tell me about yourself, Scott,” Brad began, “I haven’t really seen you or your father around town, are you new here?”

“Yeah, my Dad and I have been on the road, his work kinda keeps us going from place to place,” Scott said, all the while refraining from mentioning the real reason he and his father traveled. The escape from ‘Building 11’ was still fresh in his mind and the fear he had was that these kind people would not understand why he and his father had to live the way they did.

“How does your mother deal with all this traveling?” Brad asked.

“She’s not with us right now,” Scott said sadly, “we’ve been trying to find her.”

“I see,” Brad said as he took notice of the sadness in the boy’s eyes. “I don’t mean to upset you, Scott, I was just curious is all.”

Scott nodded, “Its okay, Mr. Fischer.”

“Call me Brad, please; we’re a pretty informal crowd,” he said smiling as he stood up. “I’ll be right back, I have to call Mandy.” Scott watched as he made his way towards the door leading outside.

Scott nodded and glanced over towards the dressing room where Patty had gone. He hoped that she would be back soon, with her around, he did not have the chance to dwell on his problems.

Now alone, Scott’s thoughts began to drift. It had been almost a year since his father had come back, and they had just lost his mother in Arizona. He knew that no matter how hard he wished he knew that he would never have a normal family.

The small round sphere he carried in his pocket demonstrated that. It was a part of his birthright, but it also defined the fact that he was different, not like his alien father, and not like his human mother. He sighed deeply all the while knowing that his father had traveled from across the galaxy to help him, and now that George Fox and the Federal Security Agency knew of his presence here, they would not stop until Paul and Scott were captured.

Scott swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. ‘Building 11’ had been the worst nightmare that he could have imagined. He felt very lucky that his Uncle Wayne had been there to save them from a lifetime of imprisonment. This event alone had caused him and his father to become even closer than they were before, and Scott knew that he would die if anything ever happened to his wise, yet innocent father.

His thoughts continued to drift as he thought about his life in Seattle before Paul had come back. He had been left with foster parents, the Lockharts, and after they were killed in a car accident, Paul had appeared from out of nowhere claiming to be his father. The teenager’s early rejection of his father had turned to love, and Scott had developed a sense of pride about who he was.

Sighing deeply the teenager closed his eyes, but when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“I didn’t mean to startle you, Scott,” Brad said once he had returned from making his phone call and had sat down on the bench.

“It’s okay,” he muttered.

“Are you all right? You look like you were lost in space.”

“I’m fine; you just scared me; that’s all.” Scott answered.

“You look a little pale?” Brad asked.

Scott nodded, this time not saying a word.

“I’m sorry, I guess I sound like an overbearing parent again,” Brad offered with a chuckle. “Just keep that under your hat. Patty would probably have scolded me for that.”

“She would have scolded you?” Scott asked as he looked over at the man seated across from him.

“Yeah, she’s the sort of person who doesn’t like people to make a fuss,” Brad said. “She’s a bit like her mother. I somehow get the feeling that you take after your father.”

“How did you reach that conclusion?” Scott asked trying to stifle a sarcastic grin.

“Well, you’re very smart, and from what Patty said you both ask a lot of questions,” Brad answered with a smile.

Scott laughed out loud.

“You know, Patty would probably strangle me because I’m not watching the competition in there. Normally I do, but today I just didn’t feel like it. Unlike Patty, I do have my limits on how much skating I can watch,” he said laughing.

“I don’t really know much about it except for what I’ve seen on TV,” Scott said honestly.

“It’s a good sport, but me, I like a good soccer match, or basketball,” Brad said. “Are you into sports, Scott?”

“Yeah, I like to run, and was on a track team earlier this year. My coach was really great. I remember we used to sneak through this broken fence so we would beat him at the cross-country. He would get back to the starting line and we’d applaud that he actually made it,” Scott said remembering fondly the fun he had had in San Leon.

“I was on swim team in school. My coach said I swam like a fish. Then three years later in college, one of my buddies said I should drink like a fish, and swim like a dog.” He grinned sheepishly. “One of these days when you get to college, you’ll know what I mean.”

Scott laughed, “I think I do anyway.”

“I don’t drink alcohol myself, probably because I’m allergic to it, not to mention I can’t stand the taste of it,” Brad said, “but in college a lot of guys do.”

“You studied Chemical Engineering, right?” Scott asked.

“How’d you know that?” Brad asked.

“Patty mentioned it to my dad, I just happened to listen in,” Scott said.

“I should have known, she’s the one with the round the clock news,” Brad said. “What about you? Do you have any idea what you might want to study later?”

“Astronomy, probably,” Scott said.

“No kidding?” When Scott nodded, he continued, “that’s really great, you obviously have the aptitude for the subject. I must admit; my biggest disaster in college was trying to get through this one Physics class. The professor taught like we were all Einstein reincarnated. It was a nightmare. I think getting a ‘C’ in that class must have been the biggest miracle of my life.”

Scott laughed again; hanging around with Brad was really fun. He was really cool, and interesting. “How did Patty get into figure skating?”

“Her mother was at the mall with her one day, and she couldn’t have been any older than five, and they were doing a skating exhibition there. There was a Senior skater there. It was a young man who was about 20-years-old.” Brad began warming up to the subject. “After his program, and according to Mandy, Patty was completely star-struck. But, I think what put the icing on that particular cake, was when he came over to Patty and picked her up in his arms and skated around the rink with her on his shoulder. That evening when Patty and Mandy came home, Patty begged us for skating lessons. We agreed and she started skating.”

“She was only five-years-old?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, but keep in mind, most kids who are involved in the sport, started when they were five or six-years-old. It’s not terribly uncommon for them to start at that age. It’s like I told you out in the hall, it is a commitment that young people make and a lot them drop out before they even get out of the Novice Divisions because their interests change.”

“Wow, that's really wild. I never thought that a five or six-year-old kid could make such a commitment,” Scott offered.

“Maybe but Patty’s situation is different than a lot of these kids. Many of them are pushed into it by their parents. Like Stephanie; I have seen her mother fly into rages when Stephanie would miss jumps in practice,” Brad said sadly.

“But I thought that Patty and Stephanie practiced at separate times?” Scott asked.

“They didn’t always,” Brad said. “When we first moved here, Stephanie and Patty both had their training with Gilda. Later, Gilda told me that she had been fired as Stephanie’s coach and I remember the events leading up to it. I’d come into the rink to pick up Patty after practice and would hear Teresa Zimmerman screaming at Stephanie about missing jumps or something. Later, she hired a new coach named Jake McCall, and they completely change her practice times so that Stephanie and Patty would not even see each other.”

“How did Patty react to it?” Scott asked.

“The first time she heard Mrs. Zimmerman screaming at Stephanie, it scared her, and later she admitted that it made her angry. She told me that she couldn’t understand a parent getting ballistic about something like a double Flip.” Brad shrugged his shoulders, but continued. “Then Patty saw Stephanie take it like a soldier. I knew that there were moments when she wanted to scream back at Mrs. Zimmerman, but I told her that she’d better not. I had a feeling that although my daughter’s emotions were strong, we have absolutely no idea about how solid Stephanie’s were. I feared that if Patty had said anything about it, then it would only get worse on Stephanie.”

“Wow, and from watching the sport, one would think that it was all glitter and glitz,” Scott said.

Brad shook his head. “I know what you mean, but after watching Patty immersing herself into it, I learned that there’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears to it.”

Scott laughed, but finally spoke again. “Gilda told me that the pressures Stephanie is under might cause her to have a nervous breakdown, what do you think?”

“I think it’s much worse than what Gilda said, Scott,” Brad said. “The pressure that Mrs. Zimmerman is putting on her daughter could be considered abusive, and that if someone doesn’t step in and help her soon, Stephanie may look for any way out that she can find.”

Scott shuddered; he could not imagine anything worse than that. “What about your wife, what does she think?”

“Mandy hasn’t heard all of what I have and I haven’t told her. It’s like I said, Patty and Mandy are cut from the same mold,” Brad said. “I know both of them well enough to know that if they were to yell back at Mrs. Zimmerman, the results fall on the shoulders of Stephanie. This woman has outrageous expectations for her daughter and tries to live them out through her. I could never do that to Patty. That’s why we never pushed her to be more than what she is. She has pushed herself more than any of us ever could have.”

“I think you guys are great and Patty’s really lucky,” Scott said honestly.

“Thanks, but listen, I may have said too much here, so please don’t tell Patty any of this, okay? I know that I’m trying to protect her, but I also know that she’s really concerned. If Patty ever had to, she would give up the skating if it meant saving her friend,” Brad said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t want her to give up anything she loves because of the actions of others.”

“She’d really give it up, like that, if it meant saving Stephanie?” Scott asked.

Brad nodded, “I think she would.”

Scott nodded numbly. “I won’t say anything, but I’d like talk to my dad about it later. Is that okay?”

Brad nodded, “I don’t see why you can’t.”

By this time, Patty had emerged from the dressing room. “Daddy, why aren’t you watching the competition?”

Brad looked up and blushed, “sorry Princess, we’re just having guy talk.”

Patty giggled, “I guess living with three women you probably need that sometimes.”

Scott looked up and saw her. The first thing he noticed was that her wavy hair was out of the bun and brushing against her shoulders. The make-up she had worn during the competition was gone and she wore a beige skirt and a turtleneck sweater. The girl standing before him looked like a completely different person than then skater that he had seen an hour ago.

“Daddy can you hold this for me for a minute?” she handed Brad a clothing bag, and moved the duffel bag strap up on her shoulder closer to her neck. Once the bag was comfortably hanging from her shoulder, she took the bag away from her father.

“Your mom and baby sister are going to meet us at the restaurant in half an hour,” Brad said, then he turned to Scott. “Why don’t you go and see if your father’s ready to go, and we can head out. It’s going to take some time for us to get there with the traffic.”

Scott nodded and headed back through the curtain. The last of the skaters were beginning to take their skates off, and Scott knew that the competition must be over because the Zamboni had returned to resurface the ice. He glanced over and saw his father putting his camera into its bag.

“You’re done?” Scott asked approaching his father.

Paul nodded, “yes, it was an interesting competition. I took many pictures of all the competitors. The paper should be happy.”

“So that means you can come with us. Great!” Scott picked up the bag after Paul closed it. “We’d better hurry. Patty and Brad are waiting in the lobby.”

“Okay, but I need to drop off the film before we go eat,” Paul said.

“Maybe we can meet them at the restaurant, then,” Scott suggested.

“Let’s see what Brad has in mind,” Paul offered.

Scott nodded as they made their way outside. Patty and Brad were standing on the sidewalk in front of the entrance.

“Hi, Mr. Forrester, did you enjoy the competition?” Patty wanted to know, as soon as they joined them outside.

“Call me Paul, and yes I did,” he responded.

“Who won?” Patty asked.

“Daniel Jenkins,” Paul answered.

“He’s really good; I’ve seen him during practice. He can land a triple Loop in competition with no problems. After this event, he’ll probably to move up to the Junior Level. The hardest jump I have successfully landed in competition was the triple Toe Loop,” Patty grinned and continued. “I’ve tried to land the triple Loop so often, but the problem is I can’t seem to get all the way around on it. I told Gilda once that I did it once successfully, but I also admitted to having my eyes closed. She laughed, but still, she’s been really working me on it.”

“Kind of like a one hit wonder?” Scott asked.

“Yeah,” she said nodding. “I’ve been really trying to land it solid, too. Gilda said that with a solid triple Loop in competition, I could compete as a Junior because my other jumps are solid, but I also know that it’s going to take a lot of practice to perfect it. I still have to get more experience with that particular one before I can move on.”

“Are you going to compete as a Junior any time soon?” Paul asked.

“Probably next season, but I would have to wait and see,” Patty answered. “I want to be good enough to qualify or I’d be biting off more than I can chew.”

“I have to drop off this film before we go eat,” Paul said. “Can we meet you at the restaurant?”

“How far away do you have to go?” Brad asked.

“Not far, maybe three or four blocks,” Paul answered.

“Well, why don’t we follow you and then after you drop it off, we can go to the restaurant? It’s not far from here, but kind of hard to find,” Brad explained as he dug around in his pocket and pulled out his car keys.

“Okay, that’ll be fine,” Paul and Scott walked over to their pickup truck and Brad and Patty climbed in a small blue mini-van. Brad started the car and followed Paul and Scott out of the parking lot.

Once Paul dropped the film, he and Scott followed Brad’s car to the restaurant where they would be having lunch.

After they arrived, Paul parked their truck next to Brad’s mini-van. Brad and Patty were already out of the car and they saw Patty waving her hands at a woman standing by the door of the restaurant, her hands rested on the curved handles of a stroller. A small girl sat inside.

As Paul and Scott were getting out of the car, they could hear the excited voice of Patty as she approached the woman. “Mom, I placed second!” Patty said as she reached her mother, and showed the silver medal she held in her hands.

“Wonderful!” the woman wrapped her older daughter in her arms. “I’m so proud of you. I wish I could have been there.” She looked up at her husband, as he approached, “who was first?”

“Stephanie was,” Patty said. 

Her mother’s face darkened, “I guess Stephanie hasn’t gone over the edge yet.” Mandy Fischer glanced over to see a man and teenage boy standing behind her husband.

Patty's smile disappeared. “Mom,” she whined.

Mandy sighed and nodded, “I’m sorry, Honey. I just feel sorry for that girl.”

Brad thought it best to change the subject. “How’s Erika doing?” he asked.

“She’s fine, still has the sniffles, but I think she’ll be okay,” Mandy said.

“Oh, Mom, this is Scott and his father, Paul. Daddy invited them to come along for lunch,” Patty said. “Paul was taking pictures of the competition and we happened to meet today.”

“Hello,” Paul said finally greeting Patty’s mother.

Mandy nodded and smiled warmly, “Nice to meet you both.”

“Why don’t we go inside and see what we can get to eat?” Brad suggested. “I smell a steak with my name on it.”

Paul and Scott nodded and followed the family inside the restaurant. Paul had his camera bag hanging from his shoulder as they entered.

Once inside they sat down at a large table.

“Are you going to take some pictures here?” Patty asked as she reached for a menu, which was in the center of the table.

“No, I just like to keep my camera with me as much as possible. Just in case I need it,” Paul answered smiling. He placed the camera bag on the floor near his feet and reached for a menu.

At that moment, Scott spoke up. “Once it even got stolen.”

Paul smiled weakly. “I won’t forget that any time soon,” he said.

“You mean my educational experience in Reno,” Scott grinned.

“So you got it back?” Patty asked.

“As luck would have, we did,” Paul said as he reached in his pocket and touched his sphere. This was much more important than the camera, because it acted as a link to his home world.

“Besides that, there are lots of the advantages to having a photographer for a father, if I want some pictures of special occasions, then I don't have to hire someone.”

“It never occurred to me that a photographer takes pictures for fun too,” Patty said honestly. “I’m glad that you’re not doing a day in the life of type of thing, I would feel a bit too self conscious if a picture of me with lettuce in my teeth showed up on the sport’s page.”

“What and miss out on another lovely fashion statement?” Brad poked his daughter on the arm and they all laughed.  
  
---  
  
That evening, Paul and Scott arrived at home. The afternoon with the Fischer family had been really great and Scott had completely forgotten that he had homework to do until Paul came in and reminded him.

“Dad, what’s up with Stephanie?” Scott put his pencil down on the pages that he was working on. The Algebra equation was forgotten because the teenager could not concentrate.

Paul came over and sat down across from his son. “She is sick. I don’t mean like the flu or something, I mean in her head.”

“I don’t understand; can you try to explain by using different words?” Scott's voice was soft.

Paul nodded, “she’s very unhappy, and it’s affecting everything about her.”

“Brad was right,” Scott said, “it can get much worse than a nervous breakdown.”

Paul nodded, “I’m afraid so, if someone doesn’t find a way to break through this wall her mother has built around her, she will look for a drastic way out. Stephanie is in a lot of pain right now, and she doesn’t have too much strength left.”

“A way out,” Scott’s gaze met that of his father. “What can we do?”

“I don’t know, but you must not mention anything about this to Patty, she’s beside herself with worry.”

“I know,” Scott whispered. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to try and get through that barrier and speak to Stephanie.”

Scott nodded, “Brad told me the same thing. Did you get a chance to talk to Stephanie today?”

Paul nodded, “I spoke with her for about five minutes. She’s petrified of her mother, and I was trying to find a way to talk to her without her mother being around. She desperately needs to talk to someone, but because her mother is so obsessive with her, the chance of me getting another opportunity is not likely.”

“Did you have any luck arranging anything?” Scott wanted to know.

Paul shook his head, “Teresa expects to be everywhere her daughter is, and the only way to talk to Stephanie would be in the presence of her mother.”

“Dad, you can’t do anything?” Scott asked

Paul shook his head.

Scott picked up his pencil, but his mind was too consumed to concentrate and he slammed the book shut. “I can’t concentrate.”

Paul came over to his son and wrapped him in his arms. “I know. I wish there was something we could do, but I’ve run out of ideas.”

“You mean like going to Teresa Zimmerman and giving her a piece of your mind?” Scott offered.

“You know that I can’t do that, one because I don’t have the Geffner temperament you have. Besides that, Stephanie would catch even more from her mother if either of us did or said anything,” Paul said. “Besides, Teresa doesn’t want you to have any contact with Stephanie.”

“Why?” Scott asked.

“Teresa saw you speaking with Patty at the rink, and she considers you to be a distraction for her daughter. She figures that if you have Stephanie’s attention, then Patty would win the next competition,” Paul said softly. “That’s what I felt when she brushed against me. Teresa’s afraid that if her daughter has any contact with anyone associated with the Fischer family, then Patty would conspire against her and win.”

“That’s absurd!” Scott threw his pencil across the table. “It doesn’t do any harm to talk to someone else. Patty’s no more a conspirator than me.”

“I know, Scott, but I touched her arm and that’s what I felt. We both know that this is foolish, but that is how Teresa Zimmerman sees things,” Paul said. “Aside from Fox, I have never encountered a human being who is so fanatical about anything. Teresa is trying to keep these barriers around her daughter so that she will have the glory if her daughter is successful.”

“That’s stupid; she should let her daughter live her life.” As he spoke, Scott’s eyes brimmed with tears. “We’ve got to help her, Dad. Stephanie is a prisoner of her mother’s desires, and it’s not fair.”

Paul nodded, “I know and when I talked to her, Stephanie was more concerned about her mother’s reaction than she was about her skating.”

“Can someone really be that afraid of another person?” Scott asked.

“You possess the same kind of fear with George Fox,” Paul said.

“Yeah, but Fox has the government behind him, Stephanie just has her mother,” Scott argued. “We have a real reason to be afraid of Fox; Stephanie shouldn’t have to live her life petrified of her own mother.”

“You’re right, but this is what I felt when I talked to Stephanie. Whether it’s right or wrong, this fear in her exists, and she has lost the courage to confront it,” Paul said.

“Keep in mind she’s only twelve-years-old. It’s like Gilda said, we can’t expect Stephanie to stand up to her mother like this.”

“That may be true, but right now, Stephanie will have to, or else she’s going to live her life imprisoned by her mother’s desires,” Paul said softly. “When I spoke to her this afternoon, I realized that she believes that she is a prisoner and is terrified of breaking free from this.”

“Do you mean like an emotional or mental imprisonment, like being in a glass coffin like we were in at ‘Building 11’, but up here?” Scott asked, pointing to his head.

Paul nodded, “yes, that’s exactly what I mean, and the trouble is, Stephanie doesn’t have your Uncle Wayne to come in and save her.”

Paul looked down at the papers Scott had strewn across the table. He could tell by looking at Scott that his concentration had been disrupted by the conversation. He decided that it would not be wise to pressure his son about the homework right now. He began to collect the papers, which were lying on the table, and began to stack them together. Next, he grabbed the schoolbooks off the table and stuffed them in the backpack his son carried when he went to school.

“Dad, I’m not finished,” Scott glanced up, “I still have to finish the assignment.”

“Don’t worry about it tonight, Scott, you’ve got a lot on your mind,” Paul answered. “You can do it later.”

Scott smiled weakly, “Thanks, Dad.” It was not often that Paul was lenient about school assignments. _He must be really concerned too,_ the teenager concluded.

Paul said nothing further; he merely walked into the kitchen.  
  
---  
  
Scott arrived at the ice rink early Monday morning. After completing his assignments Sunday afternoon, he was able to look forward to the morning he would have with Patty. He anticipated it in the way he often did when it came to a first date.

As he made his way towards the door leading inside, he noticed that Brad’s mini-van was pulling into the parking lot. He stopped and watched as Patty got out.

Upon seeing him, she smiled and waved.

He waved back and approached the mini-van. “Hi Patty, Brad.”

“Good morning, Scott,” Brad offered from inside the van. He made sure that Patty grabbed all of her things before he started the engine. “I’d stick around for awhile, but I need to go to the hardware store and pick up some things for the upstairs bathroom. Your mom will be here at two to pick you up.”

Patty nodded, “you’ve already told me that three or four times already, Daddy. If she isn’t here, then I will call a cab and see you later at home.”

“If nobody’s here, I’m sure my Dad can drive you,” Scott offered. “It’s not far away and we can walk to the paper from here.”

Patty nodded, “see, Daddy, you don’t have to worry.”

“It’s my job to worry, you should know that by now,” Brad said with a good-natured grin. “Have a good time, kids, and I’ll see you later.”

Patty turned to Scott as her father drove away. “My dad, he’s trying to play plumber. The sink in the upstairs bathroom has a drip, and he wants to try and fix it. It may be luck that I am not home while he does it.”

“Do you think he can?” Scott asked.

Patty shook her head, “I don’t know, Mom and I have placed wages on whether or not he can do it. If he can’t then I win and she’s going to buy me this really pretty green skating costume for next season.”

“What if your mom wins?” Scott asked.

“I’ll have to use her idea for my next long program,” Patty said.

“Which is?”

“Some old science fiction show from the early sixties,” Patty said. “I’m not really a fan, but she loves it. I don’t much care if I have to dress like a space vagabond; I just want my bathroom back. Right now I hope he can so I will have my bathroom again. Having to share one with my little sister is a drag,” she laughed good-naturedly. “Oh well, let’s go inside, Gilda probably hasn’t gotten here yet and we need to get you a pair of skates and I need to warm up. Gilda normally arrives about ten minutes or so after me.”

Scott nodded and followed her inside.

“What size are you?” she asked as she approached a counter.

“My tennis shoes are ten, I think,” Scott said.

Patty nodded and once she saw an older man approach the counter, she smiled at him. “Good morning, Mr. Guthrie.”

“Patty, how are you?” the man broke into a huge grin upon seeing her.

“I’m great,” she said smiling. “This is my friend, Scott. He’s going to train with me today. Can he borrow a pair of size ten skates?”

The man’s gaze came to rest on Scott, who was standing a few inches behind Patty. He chuckled to himself, turned around, pulled a pair of skates from the shelf, and handed them to Scott. “This is your first time skating, young man?”

Scott nodded.

“Then you might want to wear socks, sometimes beginners get bad blisters.”

Scott nodded, “yes, sir.”

Patty grinned at the man. “You always look out for everyone, Mr. Guthrie.”

“Well, that’s because you’re my darling,” the man began to laugh and Patty and Scott joined him. “Oh yes, I nearly forgot, Gilda called. She said that she’s going to be a few minutes late and you should do some warm up calisthenics, before you get on the ice. Not like I should be telling you that.” He smiled good-naturedly at Patty.

“You know me so well,” she said giggling.

The man nodded. “My wife and I have owned this rink for the past 18 years, and Patty is the only girl we’ve met who had more ambition than her parents and coach combined.” He smiled fondly at the girl standing before him. “Yes sir, talk about a nice family. Martha, that’s the missus, she's always talking about those nice Fischers and what a great group of people they are.”

Patty Blushed. “Mr. Guthrie, you’re always bragging about that.”

“Yeah, but only because it’s the truth,” he responded with a wink.

“I noticed that about them too,” Scott said honestly.

Thomas Guthrie beamed, “you see, even your friend is observant about such things.”

Patty giggled and Scott grinned noticing her modesty. He decided to change the subject. “I saw the competition two days ago, and it was really great.”

“Yes, it’s one of the highlights of the season. Usually this rink is used only for training,” Mr. Guthrie answered with a smile, “but, they are renovating the rink where they usually have the competitions.”

“How many people train here?” Scott asked.

“About ten girls in Patty’s division, but we have over 60 who train here. The others train at the rink across town,” he responded.

At that moment, a woman’s voice was heard, and Mr. Guthrie smiled at the two of them. “I have to go, my wife is calling me. Have fun, you two.”

The man turned and walked away from the counter, but not before Patty called out once again. “Okay, see you later, Mr. Guthrie.”

Scott nodded towards the man and followed Patty to the stands. Once there, he sat down, watched her lay her bag on the stands, and begin stretching. “I have to warm up every time I skate. That way I can do the triple jumps and stuff,” she explained.

Scott nodded untied his tennis shoes and pulled them off. He reached for one of the skates hesitantly and as he put one on, he spoke. “I’ve never ice skated before in my life.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said as she continued stretching.

Scott continued watching her for a few minutes and after about 10 minutes; she sat down next to him and untied her tennis shoes. Within seconds, she had her skates on and looked over at him as she tied the laces on her skates. “Come on, we all have to start somewhere.”

“How many pillows am I gonna need for my bottom, then?” Scott asked as he grinned at her before attempting to stand up.

“Oh, come on, how can you say that if you’ve never tried?” She looked at him, and smiled. “Come on, I’ll show you how easy it is.”

Scott stood up and hesitantly followed her to the edge of the ice. “Where’s the shallow end?” he asked jokingly.

Patty laughed out loud, “you chicken, come on, it’s fun.” She glided out onto the ice, and Scott followed, a little wobbly, but finally he managed to skate out onto the surface of the ice keeping his hands holding onto the railing. His knuckles were gripped so tightly to the rail that his fingers were turning white.

“This feels really different,” Scott offered gritting his teeth and using his hands to push himself along all the while his hands refusing to let go of the railing.

Patty skated over to him, “first of all, you have to let go of the rail, or you’ll never get anywhere.” She reached out her hands to him and he accepted them. As their hands touched, he gulped as she pulled him away from the railing and into the center of the rink. She released his hands and skated away from him. He was left standing alone in the middle, not knowing what to do next. “Come here, Scott,” she called out to him.

“How?” Scott asked.

“Instead of taking off using the rail, you have to use your feet, one in front of the other.” Patty demonstrated what she meant by gliding across the ice, one foot in front of the other.

Scott started by walking slowly towards her, but his first attempt caused him to fall backwards and he fell on his rear end. “You said I didn’t need any pillows for this, but I think you're wrong.” He rubbed his bottom and looked over at her. “How do I get up?”

Patty started giggling uncontrollably when she turned around and saw Scott still sitting on the ice. “Use your hands to push yourself back on to your feet.”

Scott nodded, and did as she instructed.

Once he was back on his feet, Patty called out to him. “Now, try again, and this time, don’t take such choppy steps. Pretend like you’re intentionally shuffling your feet across a carpet so you can shock your dad with the static electricity.”

Scott nodded and tried it like she said, and was surprised when he reached the railing without falling. “Wow, cool.”

Patty nodded. “Actually, some say it’s easier to skate backwards than it is to skate forwards. It’s just harder to learn.”

“One thing at a time, thank you,” Scott said.

Seconds later, another voice called out. “Good morning, you two.”

Patty turned around, “Gilda. I got your message.”

Gilda sat down in the stands and started taking her tennis shoes off. “I figured. How are you, Scott?”

Scott nodded, “fine, I think.”

Gilda continued to put her skates on as the two teenagers clowned around on the ice. Once she was finished, she skated over towards where Patty and Scott were. “Okay, enough monkey business, you two. It’s time to get to work. Did you do your warm-up, Patty?”

Patty nodded, “of course. What should I be working on today?”

“We need to do a lot of polishing up of your program to get you ready for the regional competition. We only have a month until then, and you should try to replace the double Loop at the beginning with a Triple Loop, or at the very least, a triple Toe Loop,” Gilda said.

Scott listened attentively hoping that Gilda would explain the distinguishing characteristics of each jump. When she didn’t, he finally interrupted her. “I don’t understand, what’s the difference between a Salchow and a Toe Loop?”

Gilda turned to Scott and smiled. “All jumps are determined by the take off. A Salchow’s take off is from the backward inside edge of the blade.” She positioned her foot on the ice in the manner that one would in order to execute the jump. “Your take off foot has to be on the ice in this position, to execute the Salchow.” Her attention diverted to Patty. “Patty, show us a double Salchow.”

Scott watched as Patty executed the jump taking off from one leg, and landing on the other. Once she landed the jump, she skated back over to them.

“Very good, this is one of her best jumps, but of the six jumps, it’s also one of the easiest,” Gilda explained. “When I give the word, do a double Toe Loop.”

Patty nodded as Gilda began to speak again. “Okay Scott, the Toe Loop is actually a variation of the Loop, but let me explain the Loop first. In executing the Loop, a skater has to start the jump on same foot they land on. The Toe Loop is much easier because a skater would take off from the toe of the skate, which explains the jump’s name.” Gilda glanced over at Patty and nodded.

Patty executed the jump.

“Now, I want you to do a triple Toe Loop,” Gilda called out.

Patty nodded and after a few seconds attempted the jump. This jump, she landed on both feet. “Sorry, Gilda, that one didn’t come out so good.”

“Yeah, you double footed the landing. Concentrate, and make sure you get a good take off and height in the jump,” Gilda called out. “Try again.”

Patty skated around the rink in order to get momentum and attempted the jump again, this time she landed it perfectly.

“Did you see the difference between the two jumps?” Gilda asked Scott.

Scott nodded, “yeah, since I was paying particular attention. But, how do the people on TV know what moves a skater is going to make when they are moderating events?”

“You mean in the Seniors competitions?” Gilda asked.

“Yeah,” Scott answered.

“They get a list of the routine as to what jumps will be executed. Also in the short program, a skater has to execute certain jumps, and if they miss it, or fall, they don’t get a second chance to try it,” Gilda said. “When I performed, I missed the double Axel in the short program, and then messed up the triple Loop and after that I was so distracted, I fell during the footwork in the long program. That’s why I finished near the end.”

“An Axel?” Scott asked.

Gilda nodded, “yes, it’s one of the more difficult jumps, because there is an additional half turn so that the skater can land going backwards. Not to mention you have to take off from a forward edge.”

“Can you do one now?” Scott asked.

“Okay, hold this,” Gilda handed Scott her clipboard, and skated away from him. She executed the jump and landed successfully. She skated back over to Scott. “Did you see the difference?”

“I think so,” Scott answered.

Gilda looked over at Patty, who was skating around the rink. “Patty, show us a double Axel.”

Patty nodded and once she got the momentum she needed, she executed the jump and smiled when she landed it.

“Very good,” Gilda said when Patty skated back over to them. “Now try a triple Salchow.”

She nodded and skated away from them and attempted the jump. During the third revolution she landed on the ice and lost her balance and fell on her bottom.

Scott laughed, and clumsily made his way over to his friend, “maybe you’re the one who needs the pillow.”

Patty burst out laughing, and it took a couple of seconds for her to get up off the ice from the hysterical giggling that overcame her.

“I think I missed the joke,” Gilda said skating over to the two of them. “You weren’t concentrating, that’s supposed to be one of your better jumps. Why don’t you try again?”

Patty nodded, “okay.” She skated around the rink, but as she looked up, she saw some movement over by the entrance. Her smile disappeared when she recognized who had come in. Rather than attempting the jump, she skated back over to where her coach and Scott were standing. “Hey, isn’t that Stephanie’s coach?”

Gilda looked up and nodded, “yes, that’s Jake McCall, but I wonder what he’s doing here. Usually he and Stephanie are here during the afternoons.”

Scott looked up and saw the man. “I saw him here on Saturday.”

The coach nodded as she went over to the railing and laid down her clipboard. Returning to the two teenagers, she spoke. “I’m going to see what is going on. Jake wouldn’t show up at this time unless he had to cancel a student’s training for the day. I’ll be right back, Patty why don’t you explain to Scott the Flip and the Lutz?” Gilda said as she made her way towards the far end of the rink so she could talk with other coach.

Scott looked at Patty, “I wonder what’s going on.”

Patty sighed deeply, “I have no idea. Do you think something’s wrong?”

Scott shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know.”

“Oh well, let me explain the other two jumps, and then when Gilda comes back over, we can ask her about it,” Patty said. “A Flip is done from an inside edge with the toe pick in the ice to help with taking off. My dad always calls it a Pole Vault on ice, actually. Let me show you.” Patty dug the toe pick of her skate into the ice.

Scott nodded, “It’s a little bit complicating, why don’t you do the jump, and let me just watch how it looks?”

“Okay,” Patty skated away from him and executed a double Flip.

When she skated back over to him, “Did you see what I did?”

“Yeah,” Scott answered.

“The Lutz is like the Flip, the only difference is the take off is from the outside edge. The jump is really difficult. The triple Lutz, I can’t do without biting it. It’s the hardest triple jump aside from the Axel, which most Senior women can't land anyway, so I don’t stress about it. The triple Lutz is really hard, but I can show you a double Lutz, I can land them pretty well.”

“Okay,” Scott said.

Patty nodded, and skated off to execute the jump. Once she did it and two footed the landing, she skated back over to him. “That one wasn’t good, I wasn’t concentrating and I two footed the landing, but you get an idea about how the jump takes off.”

“Two footing, I heard Gilda use that term, does that mean that you land on both feet?” Scott asked.

Patty nodded, “exactly. In competition, if you land a jump on two feet, then you lose points. When I did the triple Toe Loop earlier, I had to do it again because I landed on both feet.”

“Thanks for explaining them to me,” Scott said as he glanced over to see if Gilda was going to be returning to them in a few moments.

Finally after some time passed, the coach returned.

The first thing that Scott noticed was that Gilda's usually happy face looked troubled. “What happened, Gilda?” Scott and Patty asked almost simultaneously.

“We have to stop training early today. The Guthries said they are going to close the rink for the rest of the day,” Gilda said softly.

“Does this have anything to do with Stephy’s coach showing up here?” Patty asked.

Gilda nodded, “I’m afraid it does.” The woman looked at Patty sadly. _How can I even begin to explain what I learned?_ She asked herself with a sigh. “Jake came by to cancel her training for an indefinite period of time. Patty, Stephanie tried to kill herself last night,” Gilda said. “Teresa Zimmerman called Jake this morning in hysterics and told him that Stephanie had been taken to the hospital.”

Patty’s eyes widened. “That can’t be true, not Stephy.” She looked into the sad eyes of her coach and back at Scott. When Gilda’s gaze did not falter, Patty knew it must be true. She covered her face in her hands and began to cry.

Scott was still standing next to her, and he wrapped his arms around her. “What exactly happened, Gilda?” He asked as Patty continued to cry on his shoulder.

“Teresa said that she had gone into Stephanie’s room this morning to wake her up and found a bottle of sleeping pills by the bed. According to Teresa, she shook Stephanie a few times in hopes of waking her up, and although she was still breathing, she was unconscious. She called 911 and the ambulance came and picked her up and took her to the hospital. At the hospital, she called Jake, and he came here to tell the Guthries,” Gilda said softly. “Jake just left for the hospital and I’ll be going there as well. You two can come, but if you do, we need to contact your parents.”

Scott nodded numbly. Patty was still crying, though by this time, she was no longer holding onto him. She sniffed and wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry, Patty,” Gilda said. “I knew that it would be hard to tell you, but I had to let you know. I don’t think you would have forgiven me if I hadn’t been honest with you about this. I realized long ago that you wanted everything to be like it used to be, and I wish I could make it that way.”

Patty nodded, “I want to go with you,” were the only words to emerge.

“Okay, I’ll call your parents and see if they can meet us there.” Gilda said. She turned to face Scott. “Please stay with her, Scott, she needs your friendship.” Sighing yet again, Gilda continued speaking. “Do you want to come to the hospital with us?”

“I think I should, but I was wondering if you could call my dad and tell him, so he can meet us there as well?” he asked.

The coach nodded.

“He’s been working at the paper but he can probably get away,” Scott said.

Gilda nodded reaching for the clipboard, and grabbing a pencil. “Give me his name and the number where he can be reached.”

Scott did, and once she had the number written down, she skated away from the two of them and over towards the railing. Once she disappeared through the hallway, Scott wrapped his arm around Patty’s shoulder and clumsily led her towards the edge of the ice.

 _I’m so glad that we're still here,_ he thought to himself as he glanced over at Patty and saw that she carried an agonized look on her face. Finally, he spoke trying to comfort her, “everything is going to be okay, Patty.”

She nodded numbly and allowed him to help her sit down once they reached the stands. Scott sat down next to her and began to untie the laces on his skates. She was sitting motionless next to him and once Scott had his tennis shoes on, he glanced over to see that she was still wearing her skates. He finally reached over and untied the laces on her skates and removed them from her feet. He opened her bag and gently laid them inside. Once her skates were in the bag, she reached over and began to put on her tennis shoes.

“I’ll be right back, I have to return these to Mr. Guthrie,” he said and once she nodded, he grabbed the skates and returned to the counter.

“Is she okay?” Mr. Guthrie asked accepting the skates.

“She’s taking the news pretty hard,” Scott answered honestly.

“I suspected that she would, she and Stephanie used to be really good friends, before...” his voice trailed.

“...Before her mother got involved and started dictating who she could be friends with.” Scott completed bitterly. He sighed deeply all the while grateful that his father was not there to hear his outburst.

“Far be it from me to judge anything Mrs. Zimmerman has done, but when you’re right, you’re right.” Mr. Guthrie sat the skates on a shelf, and spoke again. “Go back to Patty, Scott, she needs you.”

The teenager nodded and walked numbly back over to the stands where Patty was still seated. She was slumped over and still holding one of her tennis shoes, which she had not put on yet.

Scott put his hands on her shoulders all the while wishing that he had the right words to say. At that moment, he simply did not know, and his own sadness about Stephanie made him wish that his father was there. Paul always had a way of making things better.

As Gilda was making her way back over towards them, Patty had managed to get her other shoe back on. “Your father said that he would meet us at the hospital, Scott. Your parents are also on their way, Patty. I told them that I would drive you there.” Gilda grabbed Patty's duffel bag and swung it over her shoulder. “Let's get going, the Guthries have to lock up and they will be meeting us there as well.”

The two teenagers nodded and followed the young woman. Before they exited, Scott looked back towards the rink as a shiver cursed through him. _To think that before this week, I thought it was all show,_ he thought glumly. The dramatic turn of events had left him in shock, and when he glanced over and saw the pale features of Patty Fischer, he had a feeling that the same thoughts were cursing through her mind as well.  
  
---  
  
A half an hour later, Patty, Scott and Gilda arrived at the hospital. The white walls, and the people clad mostly in white reminded Scott of the time his father laid in a coma. He unconsciously swallowed the lump forming in his throat, all the while trying to block out the uneasy memory. After walking through the corridor, they found a cheerful, orange painted room, and walked inside.

Upon entering the room, Patty broke away from Scott when she saw her father standing in the waiting room. She began to cry once again and rushed into his arms, the tears streaming freely down her cheeks as she sought the comfort of her father.

Scott sat down in a chair next to Gilda. “You said on Thursday that Stephanie was working on a nervous breakdown, but who would have thought?”

Gilda spoke softly. “I would have given anything to have been wrong.”

“This all seems like a really bad dream,” the teenager mused.

She sighed deeply and nodded, “either that or a really bad Soap Opera.”

Scott did not respond. Instead he looked towards the entrance of the waiting area, and saw his father coming in. Paul approached Scott and Gilda and sat down next to his son. “I came as quickly as I could,” he said as he glanced over at the young woman seated next to his son. “Are you Gilda?”

She nodded.

“Thank you for bringing Scott and for calling me,” Paul said softly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Gilda nodded once again, “likewise, but not under these circumstances.”

Paul said nothing but offered a concurring nod.

After about fifteen minutes, Thomas and Mabel Guthrie arrived followed by Jake McCall. “The doctor is speaking with Mrs. Zimmerman right now,” he informed the group assembled. “As soon as I find out something, I’ll let you all know. I only wish that Stephanie had a chance to know what good friends she has.”

The others assembled in the room nodded, each one consumed with their own thoughts about the entire situation.

Finally Jake glanced over at Paul and Scott and when he did not recognize either of them, he looked at Gilda, a question looming. “Paul and Scott met Stephanie at the competition,” she offered.

Jake nodded and walked over to shake hands with Paul and Scott. “Jake McCall, Stephanie’s coach. I’m really surprised to see someone who doesn’t know Stephy very well, but I think you being here is very nice, Mr. uhhh.”

Paul stood up and offered his hand, “Paul Forrester.”

Jake nodded and sat down.

Patty was still sitting next to her parents when Teresa Zimmerman walked into the waiting room. Her sad expression turned to that of anger when her gaze came to rest on Patty and her parents who were seated in the corner of the room. As an uncomfortable silence descended on the room, they suddenly heard the angry words emerging from Stephanie’s mother. “How dare you show up here? Haven’t you done enough? If it weren’t for you, my daughter would be okay.”

Patty looked up, her face covered with tears as the mother of her friend yelled at her. Instead of responding, the young girl sat for some moments in shock as fresh tears began to stream from beneath her eyes. She reached over and sought a hug from her mother who was seated next to her.

Mandy patted her daughter’s shoulder and glowered at the other woman. The anger was evident in her eyes, but she realized that if she had been in the other woman’s position, she would not be able to deal with someone yelling at her any better than Teresa was doing. It angered her to see the woman taking her anger out at her daughter and instead of throwing angry words back at the woman, Mandy simply looked at her daughter. “It’s not your fault,” she whispered to Patty. “Mrs. Zimmerman is just angry, and doesn’t realize what she’s saying.”

Patty nodded at her mother but remained in her arms.

Scott however, did not think that way, and he raised his head. “You have no right to accuse Patty of this; she’s been nothing but a good friend to Stephanie.”

Paul’s hand came to rest on his son’s shoulder. “Shh, Scott, try and calm down.” The light pressure on his shoulder caused Scott’s anger to dissipate only slightly. Paul looked over at Patty who was still wrapped in her mother’s arms, back at his son, and finally over at Teresa who was sitting alone. Finally, he asked a question of his own. “Why are you angry at Patty? She did nothing to harm your daughter.”

Teresa Zimmerman looked at Paul, “It’s her fault that my daughter’s here!”

This time Brad stood up. “How dare you blame my child for this? Patty didn’t cause Stephanie to try to kill herself. If anyone did, it was you and your damn arrogance and high expectations of her that did this. Couldn’t you see that Stephanie isn’t happy anymore?”

“Brad!” Mandy spoke up, “No...” her voice trailed off as another voice was suddenly heard.

“Do you honestly believe that it’s Patty’s fault that your daughter did this to herself?” Gilda asked defensively. “I trained Stephanie for a year before Jake became her coach, and of all the girls I have worked with, not one of them was as petrified of her mother as she was of you.”

Teresa glanced over at Jake who could do nothing but nod slightly.

Paul watched the events take place curiously. Finally, he stood up and approached Teresa Zimmerman. “Please no more hurtful words, we’re all here for Stephanie, not to place blame.” He placed his hand on Teresa’s shoulder, but after a second passed, he removed his hand and sat down in a chair near her.

Patty wiped her moist eyes, “you’re right.” She crawled out of her chair and walked over to where Teresa was sitting. Her eyes were soft as she addressed the woman. “Mrs. Zimmerman, I’m sorry this happened, but Stephy is my friend, and I care about what happens to her. My dad is defending me where I cannot. If you hate me, fine, but one day, I hope you realize that I am her friend and she is my friend and your controlling isn’t going to change that.”

Teresa looked up to see the young girl speaking to her. She closed her eyes, and when she finally opened them, she spoke, her voice angry and hurt. “Just go away. Get out of my sight.”

Patty looked up and made eye contact with Paul who was sitting opposite of where she was, his eyes shadowed with concern. Instead of breaking down and crying, she walked slowly out of the room and closed the door behind her. She knew that the last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of Stephanie’s mother. Keeping her head lowered, she found herself walking slowly and staring at the white tiles on the walls and floor.

Back inside the waiting room, Scott had watched Patty’s movements, and he eventually stood up. “I’ve got to go to her, Dad, she needs a friend,” Scott whispered to his father as he walked by. The last thing the teenager wanted to do was to stay in that room for another second. Not while Patty was alone and coping with her grief about Stephanie. He smiled reassuringly at Patty’s parents, and opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

At that moment, Paul looked over at Teresa who was sitting alone. He finally came over to where she was sitting and sat down next to her. His hands came to rest on her shoulders once again and she looked up at him. The iciness, which was usually prevalent in her eyes, was replaced by a look of hopelessness.

“Teresa,” he said purposefully calling her by her first name. “I know you’re hurt, I can see it in your eyes, but these people are all here because they care about Stephanie as much as you do.”

“They couldn’t possibly understand. She’s my whole life.” Teresa’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears. “Everything I ever did, I did because I love her.”

“I know,” Paul said softly.

The other people in the room watched as Paul wrapped his arms around her and held her in his embrace. Jake McCall looked over at Gilda, his eyes wide. “I never thought in a million years that I would ever witness her hugging anyone,” he muttered to Gilda.

The woman smiled weakly and placed her finger over her lips.  
  
---  
  
Outside in the hall, Patty was aimlessly wandering through the corridor. Finally, she stopped and leaned up against the wall. The tears she had held back in the waiting room were now streaming down her cheeks.

Seconds passed and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Scott standing beside her. “You look like you could use a friend.”

She looked up and nodded allowing him to lead her down the hall. When they reached the front door, which would lead outside, she felt the warm sunshine on her face. As they made their way across the street to the neighboring park, she finally spoke. “You know, I guess I knew for a long time that Stephanie would eventually break down, but I never thought that things would happen like this.”

Scott nodded, “I know,” he said softly. “I don’t think anyone really knew.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out his sphere. How he wished he could do something with it to help Stephanie, but he knew he could not. He rolled the object around in his hand for a few moments and finally he looked up to see that Patty was staring at him curiously.

“What is that thing? It looks like a marble,” she asked.

Scott held up the sphere, “it’s a good luck charm,” he said. “My dad gave it to me.” He returned the object to his pocket and didn’t say anything else about it.

“I guess we used up all our good luck, huh?” she asked softly, tears welling up in her eyes once again.

Scott wrapped his arms around her once again trying to offer her some sort of comfort. “Maybe not,” he replied looking deeply into her eyes.

Patty looked at him. Although they were both worried, Patty could not help but feel attracted to him and she had felt that way about him from the first moment she had seen him. He was always so nice to her, and when he spoke to her there was kindness in his words and comfort when he hugged her. She could still see his gentle brown eyes even though she was still wrapped in his arms. It came as no surprise to her that even after she had stopped crying, she had no desire to end the embrace with him.

Patty sighed deeply once their embrace ended. “Do you think she’ll be okay, Scott?”

Scott shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know.”

“You really like her, don’t you?”

“She’s nice,” he answered honestly, wondering why she had asked. His eyes met hers and he could see something in them, but he did not know what it was. Rather than try to analyze it, he spoke again, “but, I’ve only met her once.”

Patty nodded, “yeah,” was all she was able to say. She looked away from him feeling shyness overwhelming her. As her attention was drawn back to the flowers and statues, she could see other people walking around the park. Finally, she looked back over at him, waiting for him to break the silence.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked softly.

“I’m scared,” she whispered feeling somewhat ashamed that it wasn’t completely about Stephanie, but rather herself and the mixed up feelings she was beginning to have for him.

“Stephanie’s going to be okay, you have to believe that,” Scott offered weakly as he self-consciously backed away from her. She was so vulnerable and he did not want to take advantage of her.

For some reason, his mind had also returned to San Leon and Kelly Jordan, the girl that he had met at school there. He remembered how he started to love her, then how Fox showed up, and they had to leave. He never had the opportunity to explain why they had suddenly had left. He knew that he had hurt her, and now, seeing Patty sitting next to him, he began to worry whether or not he could allow himself to feel something for another girl with the fear of Fox looming over his head.

“Did I say something wrong?” Patty’s voice broke into his thoughts. She had seen his expression suddenly change and she did not understand why he had backed away from her.

“Oh, Patty, you didn’t. I just have a lot on my mind,” Scott offered weakly moving closer to her once again.

“Is it Stephanie?” she asked.

Scott nodded, “I have other things on my mind, but yeah, I’m wondering how she is doing and if the doctor had said anything.”

“Should we go back inside?” Patty asked.

Scott shrugged his shoulders. “I guess, but I don’t really want to. I hated seeing Mrs. Zimmerman verbally abuse you in there. I’m afraid that she might do it again and I might say something I regret.”

“You mean you’d look out for me?” she asked.

Scott nodded, “yeah, I would.”

“Actually, I didn’t really notice anything in there, except that she blamed me for what happened with Stephanie,” Patty said trying to block the tears. “I guess I’m used to hearing her screaming at someone. But, I never imagined that she’d scream at me. Added to that, she said that I was at fault. I don’t believe it, but it still hurts. I don’t have the ability to scream back.”

Scott nodded and sighed deeply. “You know it hurts me to see you in pain.”

Wordlessly the girl looked at him, her expression laced in disbelief.

Scott nodded. “I know you may not believe it, but it really bothered me that she was accusing you for what happened when you’ve done everything you could to share a friendship with Stephanie. Her attitude towards you is a complete mystery to me.”

Patty nodded. “I know, and then when you wanted to talk to Stephanie, she dragged her away from you. I guess from the start you have liked Stephanie, and now you’re only here to see how she’s doing.”

Scott looked over at her, surprise shadowing his features. “Do you think I’m just here for Stephanie? I’m not; I’m here for you as well. I mean, yeah, I like Stephanie, but I also like you, and you’re my friend.” He reached over and took her hand in his.

She leaned over against him and rested her head against his chest. “That means a lot to me. I’ve never really had that many friends who weren’t involved in skating. I guess I missed out on a lot of things, but I have to admit, if it hadn’t have been for the skating, then I probably wouldn’t have met you.”

Scott smiled at her and wrapped his arms once more around her. He knew he could never tell her with words how he felt about her, but he could show her that she was special to him. His hands ran across her hair, and came to rest against her face. Finally, his mouth came down and his lips pressed against hers in a soft kiss.

In response to this, Patty wrapped her arms around him. In her grief over Stephanie, she somehow felt a small semblance of happiness in Scott's arms. When the kiss ended, the two of them stood up, and Patty looked down at where their hands were now joined. Together, they walked back across the street, into the hospital, and back down the corridor, which would lead to the waiting room.

When they walked in, Brad came over to Patty. “Are you okay, Honey?”

Patty nodded, her hand still holding onto Scott’s. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She looked around the room and when she noticed that Teresa Zimmerman was gone she looked at her father. “Where’s Mrs. Zimmerman?”

“The doctor called her into his office a few minutes ago,” Mandy said softly.

“Did he say anything about how Stephy is doing?” Patty asked.

Brad shook his head. “No and since we’re not family, we’re not allowed into his office during consultations.”

“Don’t worry, Patty,” Paul offered. “She’ll tell us when she comes back.”

Scott nodded, somehow hearing his father say that indicated that it must be the truth.

“Will we have the chance to see her?” Patty asked.

“That depends on Stephanie’s mother. The doctor said that as long as Mrs. Zimmerman agrees, we’d be able to see her,” Brad said. “But, none of us really know if she’s going to agree to us being in the room.”

“Doesn’t sound too likely,” Mandy offered. “I’m sorry, Honey.”

Patty nodded, and she and Scott went to sit down as Teresa Zimmerman walked slowly into the room.

The woman looked pale and weak. She held in her hand a fistful of wadded up tissues. Numbly, she walked over to a chair, which was in the corner and collapsed in it, crying.

Paul was next to her within seconds, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. “What is it, Teresa?”

She looked up with tears in her eyes. “The doctor said that he believes Stephanie doesn’t want to wake up. He thinks she has lost her will to live.”

Gilda looked over at Jake, who sighed deeply. Few words were spoken, each person sat with his or her own thoughts. Patty continued to hold onto Scott’s hand, and finally after some time passed, Paul’s voice could suddenly be heard.

“Teresa, please allow me to see her. We spoke on Saturday after the competition, maybe I can help,” he said softly.

Teresa shook her head helplessly. “I don’t think anyone can help her.”

“Let my dad at least try to talk to her,” Scott pleaded. “I mean it wouldn’t hurt.” He knew what he father was going to do, and although he did not always agree with Paul’s willingness to expose them, the teenager realized that this was one instance when he was grateful for his father’s willingness to try.

“But, I’m her mother. I should be closer to her than anyone else. I should be able to get through to her,” Teresa mumbled as the tears began to stream down her cheeks once again.

Scott looked at Patty. “We have to get my dad in that room,” he whispered to her.

“Why?” Patty whispered.

“I can’t explain, but I really think my dad can help her,” Scott responded. “Please, Patty you have to trust me. My dad has abilities that most people don’t possess.”

“I don’t understand, Scott,” Patty whispered, “but, I’ll do as you have suggested.” Scott nodded as he watched her stand up and walked towards the distraught woman. “Mrs. Zimmerman, at least let one of us in to see her. No one can go through life with only his or her mother, they need other people too. I mean, I love my mom very much, but I can’t see only having her support anymore than she can expect all her strength to come from me.” Patty’s defenses broke down, and she began to sob uncontrollably.

Mandy looked on, as her daughter spoke. Her hand reached up and she wiped a stray tear from her eyes. When her eyes met those of her husband, he smiled at her encouragingly. It was easy to tell, both of them were enormously proud of their daughter.

Scott started to walk over to Patty, but before he reached Teresa, her tearstained gaze looked up and she was looking at Patty as she cried. He stopped and waited as the other people in the room held their breath as Teresa Zimmerman raised her head and stared at Patty’s tearstained face.

Instead of immediately speaking, she turned away from Patty until she was looking at Paul. “I don’t believe you can do anything to help her, but I’ll tell the doctor and you can go into her room, but no one else.”

Patty looked at Teresa, “thank you.”

Paul walked over towards Patty and his hand came to rest on her shoulder. She looked up, the tears were still streaming down her face, but as she met his gaze, she realized that of all the people in the room, she believed that Paul had the ability to reach Stephanie, though she could not really explain why.  
  
---  
  
Twenty minutes later, Paul had obtained permission from the doctor to enter Stephanie’s room. He was about to leave the waiting room when his son came over to him. “Dad, what are you going to do?” Scott asked urgently, keeping his voice low.

Paul shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t really know. I thought maybe I could use the sphere and try to communicate with her. Stephanie seemed to want to talk to me the other day, and I figured that I would see if she had the ability to project thoughts when she’s asleep.”

“Do you think it’ll work?” Scott asked.

Paul shook his head, “I’m not sure. The doctor had spoken the truth, the only way I can do anything is to convince her that life is worth living, and try to encourage her to come back to us,” Paul sighed deeply. “I don’t know if using the sphere will work but I have to try.”

“You’re going to try, no one can ask for more,” Scott said and smiled at his father. He was not sure what Paul could do, but he had a lot of faith in him. “Hey Dad, tell Stephanie that Patty and I are thinking about her.”

Paul nodded and once again the doctor entered the room. He motioned to Paul, and once he stood up, the doctor led him from the room. Paul followed the doctor down the corridor and to the elevator. Once upstairs, he was wordlessly led to Stephanie’s room. As he walked slowly into the room, the doctor closed the door behind him, and he approached the bed. A shiver surged through him as he remembered how he could have died in a hospital similar to this one if his son had not have been insistent on him trusting a human doctor to help him.

He looked over and saw the still figure of the young girl lying on a hospital bed. His gaze came to rest on the instruments, which were set-up alongside the bed. He shuddered when he saw the IV in her arm. He remembered when he and Scott had been captured and how the government doctors would give him shots, and take blood from him. Trying to forget about that, he diverted his attention to the heart monitor, which he could hear beeping as it, monitored her heart rate. He looked down at her. Although she was unhappy two days before, she was now a mere shadow of the girl he had met. Her face was ghostly white and her eyes were closed. He sat down next to the bed.

He knew he only had ten minutes with her, and he quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his sphere. Maybe through this he could actually talk to her rather than just sense the emotions he felt when he touched her.

Sighing deeply, he looked at the sphere all the while knowing that by doing this, he would be exposing himself to her. If he did not, then this girl would die before she had even began to experience what good there was in life, and what it had to offer.

Sighing deeply, he placed the sphere in her hand, and began to concentrate on it. Once the room was bathed in blue light, he began projecting thoughts to her. _Stephanie, can you hear me?_

_Yes, who are you?_

_It’s Paul, I’m using an object from my home to talk to you, don’t be afraid._

_Your home, but I don’t understand,_ her next words emerged, which indicated that she was afraid.

Paul projected his home to her in very much the same way he had done with Julie Radin. He repeated telling her that she should not be afraid of him because he was there to help her.

Stephanie remained still in the bed, but Paul received another message from her and he smiled weakly. _Is this a dream?_

 _Maybe,_ he answered, but then he asked her a question of his own. _Do you want to come back to us?_

 _No,_ was the one word answer.

 _Tell me why, maybe I can help._ Paul was so immersed in his conversation with her that he failed to notice that the door had opened and closed.

Teresa Zimmerman had entered the room and when she saw the blue light emitting from her daughter’s hand, she gasped and backed up against the closed door. “Oh my God!” she whispered as she tried to grope about for the door handle.

Paul raised his head quickly. Upon seeing her standing there, he sent one final projection before the blue light disappeared. _Stephanie, Your mother is here._ He stood up and removed the sphere from Stephanie’s hand, and began to approach the woman who was plastered up against the door.

“Don’t be afraid, Teresa, I’m only trying to talk to your daughter,” Paul said gently as the woman began to push her weight against the door, and tried to get out of the room. He pointed to the door and once the locks clicked twice, he stood up and started to walk towards her.

“Who are you?” she asked, the fear in her voice causing him to stop.

“A friend, Teresa, I’m just a friend,” Paul answered still holding the sphere in his hand.

She shook her hand still backed up against the door. “Please leave my daughter alone. She’s just a child.” She sank to her knees and looked up at him, horror in her eyes as she watched him coming even closer to her.

“I have no intention of harming either you or her,” Paul extended his hand towards her. “Come over here and sit down,” he instructed as he moved to the opposite side of the bed.

Once she had seated herself, she reached over and grabbed Stephanie’s hand.

Paul reached across the bed for her hand. He was still holding the sphere in his other hand and once held her hand in his, he placed it in the palm of her hand. “Look at me, Teresa,” he said softly as he cupped his hand under hers.

She slowly glanced up as he instructed and her gaze locked with his. Seconds passed and the room was once again bathed in the same blue light she had seen upon entering the room. She started to pull her hand away, but he held it firmly with his own. After a few moments had passed, she relaxed and once the light had disappeared, she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Why are you crying? Are you still afraid?” Paul asked.

Teresa shook her head, “no, I’m just so terribly confused.”

“Why?” Paul asked.

“Brad Fischer said that I was the reason Stephanie tried to do this to herself. Do you think that’s true?” Teresa asked. “I don't know if he said that in defense of Patty or if he said it because it might be true.”

“I don’t really know, that’s why I tried using this to communicate with Stephanie. I thought that if I was able to talk to her, she would be able to tell me why she did this,” he held up the sphere. “But, I have to hurry, there’s not much time left. The doctor will be back soon.”

Teresa nodded, “then, you’re really able to communicate telepathically?”

Paul nodded, “yes.”

“Who are you? I mean what are you?” Teresa asked her eyes wide. “I know from what I’ve seen you do, you’re not from here, I mean you’re from up there somewhere, aren’t you?”

Paul nodded slowly once again. “I’m a friend,” he repeated.

“And you want to help Stephanie?” Teresa's voice cracked.

“Yes,” he affirmed.

“Why?” she could not help but ask.

“Because where I come from, all life is special and has merit. I have accepted that if something is within my power to fix, then I have to do so,” Paul said softly.

“So you really wouldn’t hurt anyone, even though you have the power to?” she asked.

“No,” Paul replied, “I couldn’t.” He said nothing more; instead, he gently laid the sphere back in Stephanie’s hand, cupped his hand under hers, and concentrated until the room was once more bathed in light. He immediately began projecting to the girl. _Your mother is here, and she wants to do what she can to make you happy. Tell me what you want her to do._

 _I want to be friends with Patty Fischer without her telling me I can’t._ Paul repeated these words to Teresa.

Teresa nodded numbly, not daring to say a word. She knew that if she did, that she would probably break down and cry.

 _What else do you want her to know? Do you want to quit skating?_

_I don’t know. I don’t like being her marionette. If I skate, it would have to be because I want to, not because I have to be her molded ice princess. I used to like skating, and it was when Patty and I could practice together. If I continue, it would be only if Patty and I could train together._ The projection came back so quickly that after some seconds, Paul relayed the words to Teresa before Stephanie’s next words continued.

_I have spent my entire life doing everyone else’s bidding, and now I just want to be myself. I did this because I lost hope of ever having real friends. I have always envied Patty because she skates, but she also gets to do normal things that other teenagers do. I’m afraid to go on living because I think that my life will continue to be encompassed in something I don’t feel gratification for. Right now, I am more afraid of my mother than anyone else and that shouldn’t be the case._

_Do you want me to tell your mother that?_ Paul wanted to know.

 _Yes,_ was the only word that emerged.

Paul repeated Stephanie’s projection for Teresa exactly as it had been told to him.

Teresa nodded numbly. She was still somewhat fearful of the unbelievable events she had witnessed. The feelings that were going through her finally became verbal as she looked over at Paul who was still concentrating on the sphere. Finally, her soft voice could be heard above the sound of the sphere. “How can you do this to me?”

“I have done nothing to you. These are the words from your daughter. It is now up to you to talk to her. There is a choice here, you can either continue ignoring her wishes, and risk losing her or you can listen to what she has said here. You may not believe that Stephanie has said these things, and that’s your option, but I can do nothing more.” Paul disconnected from the sphere and the light disappeared. He reached over and took the object out of Stephanie’s hand. “I have explained everything to you about myself, and I ask that you please keep it to yourself. Being here has put my life and the life of my son in danger. My first priority is to protect him from those who wish to do us harm.”

“Scott’s really your son?” Teresa asked.

Paul nodded. “Yes, but like all children, he’s half like his mother. We’re trying to find her now, and that is one of the things keeps us going from place to place. The other thing is a man from the government knows I am here, and has been after us since I returned about a year ago.”

“I won’t tell anyone about what you did here.” Teresa said her voice barely above a whisper. “No one would believe me anyway. I don’t and I saw it.”

“Thank you,” he paused looking down at Stephanie as she slept. “I think you should talk to your daughter, now. She can hear us and will be able to understand you.”

Paul stood up and walked over towards the door of the room. He opened the door as though the locks had never existed.

She nodded and looked down at the still figure lying in the bed and rather than question Paul as he left the room, she reached over and took the hand of her daughter and held it tightly.

Taking a deep breath, she began to speak her voice soft at first, but as each moment passed, it grew in emotion and intensity. “I’m sorry, Stephy, I didn’t know that I had hurt you. I thought all along that you wanted to skate, but I guess it was more what I wanted for you than what you wanted.” Teresa’s tears began to stream down her face as she looked down at her daughter. “When I was a girl, I wanted to be a skater more than anything, but my mother, your grandmother, was against it. She sabotaged that, and everything else I cared about. When I was about your age, I was sent off to boarding school, and my mother burnt all of my skating posters and souvenirs. I swore that I would never do anything like that to any of my children, but maybe I did when I pressured you about skating. I guess it was something I had wished for myself.”

Teresa Zimmerman’s past came out slowly at first, but as she spoke, the emotions continued to wreck havoc on her as she described her mother, a harsh woman who died before Stephanie had been born. Then she spoke about her father, a man who would disappear for days at a time, and when he finally did come home, he’d usually be drunk. This state resulted in him yelling at her for the simplest of things, whether it was being one number off on her math homework or forgetting to flush the toilet. “I guess what I learned from my mother was how to control the people close to me and from my father, how to yell at the people I love. I guess I’m no better than my parents were, but I had always dreamed of being where you were Thursday.”

She grabbed a tissue from her pocket. “I guess I have been an embarrassment to you, but my intentions weren’t done to hurt you. I’m sorry that they did, and if you want to quit, then I won’t stop you. Just please come back to us. You have friends here who care about you. The Fischers are here, and Jake and Gilda, the Guthries, and Paul’s here with his son. All these people care about you. I’m the witch, but you’re the ray of sunshine. I realize now that what I have learned from you far surpasses what you could have possibly learned from me. You have more grace in you than I could ever hope for in me. I don’t mean with the skating either. I have always remembered how you are always so kind to people, and so giving.”

Teresa looked up from the bed and then back down at her daughter who was still lying on the bed. “I know I was the one who took away your hope, and I know that you want to quit, and I’ll support you if that is really what you want to do.” She paused, swallowing the lump, which had formed in her throat. “I’ve been thinking, if you decide to come home, maybe you should go back to public school too and start making friends there. And, if you still want to skate, Jake and Gilda can probably arrange for you and Patty to practice together after school. I’ll do whatever I can to make things easier for you, I promise. Just give me a second chance.” Teresa looked down at the still form of her daughter once again as her next words filled the silence of the hospital room. “I love you, Stephy.”

Teresa wiped her hand over her eyes as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. When she reached back down to grasp her daughter’s hand, it was gone. She looked down, and when she saw Stephanie’s hand, she reached over and held it in her own. She sighed deeply after several seconds had passed. She then released her daughter’s hand but instead of it falling away, there was pressured now exerted on her hand. Raising her head, Teresa noticed that Stephanie was now holding onto her mother’s hand. Another second or two passed and Teresa felt another squeeze on her hand.

She stared down at her daughter. “Honey?” she whispered still wondering if Stephanie could hear her.

Almost coming as an answer, she heard a soft moan coming from the bed, and she found herself now staring at her daughter’s hands. As the minutes slowly ticked by, the truth dawned on her, Stephanie’s hand had moved.

She looked up to see that the machine which monitored Stephanie’s heart rate had also changed. It was now going faster, and she heard, once again, another moan coming from the bed. She looked back down at her daughter.

Seconds passed and a doctor and two nurses rushed into the room.

“She’s waking up!” Teresa stood up, reached out, and grabbed the nearest person to her, who happened to be one of the nurses. This woman took her gently in her own arms and led her out of the room. As they stepped out into the hallway, Teresa watched as the nurse closed the door behind them. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Zimmerman, she’s waking up, and she’s in good hands. We’re going to move her to another room once she’s fully conscious.”

Teresa nodded, once the nurse went back inside the room, and closed the door. After a couple of seconds had passed, she walked through the corridor until she saw Paul standing near the elevators. She approached him and smiled. “She’s waking up.” As she spoke, she wiped the tears from her eyes and threw her arms around him in a backbreaking embrace. “How can I ever thank you?”

“You have no reason to thank me,” Paul said once their embrace had ended.

“Why not?” Teresa objected. “You’re the one who woke her up.”

“It wasn’t me that woke her up, Teresa, it was you,” Paul said softly.

She shook her head. “If you hadn’t have communicated with her, I would never have realized what it was I had done.”

Paul put one of his fingers to his lips, but spoke in his usual soft manner. “You would have realized, but maybe not as quickly.” He smiled gently at her, but changed the subject. “Let’s just go downstairs and tell everyone. I think they would like to know that Stephanie’s awake.”

“Okay,” she said but allowed him to lead her into the elevator when it reached the floor. Once in the elevator, Teresa looked at Paul, “I don’t know what to say to you about what happened in there. I mean I still can’t believe what I saw.”

Paul looked at her intently. “Please, no more words about it, at least not here. If you still want to talk, we can, but I don’t want to talk about it here.”

“I’m sorry,” she offered blushing, “I just can’t believe what I saw. This is the most incredible thing that’s ever happened to me.” She looked up at him.

Paul shifted uncomfortably as she continued to speak.

“I’m just amazed that you would do so much for me and my daughter.” Tears began to stream down her cheeks once again.

In response to this, Paul said nothing.

Teresa looked over at him and could see the modesty in his eyes. She decided at that moment to say nothing else about it. Instead, her voice came out barely above a whisper, “I’m just so glad that Stephanie’s going to be okay.”

Paul nodded, “yes, but you must remember to keep the promises you made to her. Do you think you can?”

Teresa nodded, “I’ll try, but I think I’ll probably need to get some kind of help in getting through all of this. There were a lot of things I thought I had forgotten and they suddenly came out in there. I really thought I had put them behind me, but I guess I didn’t. The thing that I didn’t realize is that a lot of the things about me were the things that my parents had done. I told Stephanie about them in there, but she never met them. Her grandmother died before she was born, and her grandfather disappeared and never came back.”

“Believe me, many things that have happened with my son are the same. He has many qualities, which are like his mother, but he also has things about him that are like me. Most children do have traits that are like both their parents, and when they are grown, they probably still possess many of these qualities,” Paul offered. “The difficult thing is trying to accept and understand those things about your parents you may not like or understand, but also having the courage and strength to overcome them. Stephanie has done this and now it’s your turn to follow her example.”

She nodded as the elevator doors opened on the ground floor. “I didn’t want to believe that those things were in me, things like how I was yelling at her and the pressure I was putting on her. Then suddenly my only child turns out to be the only person who can tell me that I am more like my parents than I wanted to believe. I had no idea that I was trying to recycle my dreams onto my child.”

As they exited the elevator and made their way down the corridor, Paul could not let go of the feeling that Teresa was intent on keeping all of her promises, including not speaking of what happened in Stephanie’s room to anyone. As they made their way back into the waiting room, Patty approached them hesitantly.

“Is there any news?” Patty looked at the two of their faces, but unable to understand why they were smiling, she looked back over at Scott who was still seated in the room.

Scott tossed the magazine onto the coffee table and looked at his father questionably, “Dad?”

Paul only looked back at him and nodded.

Teresa spoke, her voice soft, but full of emotion, “she’s awake, and they’re going to move her out of Intensive Care and into a private room.”

Patty smiled, ran back over to her father, and threw her arms around him.

Mandy Fischer smiled warmly at Teresa. “I’m really glad to hear it. You must be so relieved.”

Teresa nodded, “yes, I am.” She looked over at Patty, who was still wrapped in her father’s arms. She could see the tears of happiness streaming down the girl’s cheeks. “I did make a few promises in there, but one involves Patty.”

Patty looked up when she heard her name. “What promises?”

Teresa smiled weakly, “I guess I should have known that you simply wanted to be Stephanie’s friend, but I didn’t like it because I was afraid. Please forgive me, Patty. Your father had been right, as had your coach, and I owe you an apology for blaming you for what happened. It wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I probably would never have known this had I not gotten a bit of encouragement from a friend. But, now I know that you two want to be friends and I won’t come between you anymore.”

Patty smiled, “thank you.”

Scott was still looking at his father and once he had received a confirming nod from him, he excused himself and left the room. Out in the hallway, he sighed sadly as his father approached and followed him outside. It was only that afternoon in that park across the street that he had learned that Patty cared about him, and now he would have to leave her, too. He sighed as he approached the bench where he and Patty had sat earlier.

Once he sat down, he looked at his father. “What happened? After you left, Mrs. Zimmerman also left and I figured that she had gone to Stephanie’s room to see how everything was going and there she saw you using the sphere.”

“Yes,” Paul responded. “I had to tell her the truth.”

“So, that means we’re going to leave again,” Scott said sadly.

“I asked her not to tell anyone, and I believe her. But, now that Stephanie’s awake, she may speak to more people about what she saw.”

“Yeah, but Dad, she was in a coma. Do you think she’s aware of what you did?” Scott asked.

“Scott, I know she was I could sense it. She saw as much as her mother did, but only in her mind. It was very much like with Julie, she could not see it physically, but she could see it in her mind and knew that it was real. Yes, she was blind, but that does not mean that she wasn’t aware. Because Stephanie was asleep, she might view everything as though it was a dream, but I know that if she were to see me again, she will know that it was not a dream.” He paused trying to collect his thoughts. “I knew when I went into that room that trying this was going remain in her mind, but I had no idea that Teresa would come in and see everything. The problem is because Teresa knows who I am there may be some unanswerable questions about what happened, and what I may have done when I had gone in there.”

“I know, but Dad, if she doesn’t say anything about it, then why couldn’t we just stay here for a little longer?” Scott asked.

“Because there would still be questions and they would not just come from Stephanie; but also from Patty, her parents, Gilda, Jake and the Guthries,” Paul began. “All of these people will wonder what I did when I went into that room to talk to her this afternoon. It will seem odd to all of them that I was able to do something to encourage her to wake up, when her friends and her own mother were guided by the notion that they couldn’t communicate with her at all. I won’t be able to tell them anything without exposing us, Scott.”

“But, Dad...” his son’s pain filled voice trailed.

Paul shook his head sadly, “I’m sorry, Scott, we have to go. I know you don’t want to, but I think you know what was at stake here. I had to choose between exposure and helping to save the life of a young girl.”

“I know, but can we at least stay one more day. I have to tell Patty something,” Scott pleaded.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” Paul asked softly.

Scott nodded, “Yeah I do. I remember when we had to leave San Leon and how I never got a chance to tell Kelly Jordan ‘good-bye’. After that happened I felt as though I had left her with a lot of unanswered questions. I know we had no choice, Fox had shown up and it was either leaving or our freedom, but here I have some time, and I want to at least explain to Patty why we’re leaving. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Scott, I know what you’re saying, but you can’t tell her who I am,” Paul said softly. “I know you want to, but you can’t.”

Scott’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Please let me Dad. Remember how you told Katherine Bradford about us? You did it because you began to feel something for her.” Paul nodded as his son continued. “Now I feel something for Patty, and if I don’t tell her something, I’ll hurt her in the same way I hurt Kelly. I can’t do that to her. I’m sorry, Dad, I know you are trying to protect us, but I have to tell her something, and telling the truth is a lot better than lying to her.”

Paul nodded to his son, “If you tell Patty about all of this, and she and Stephanie are able to remain friends, then Stephanie will discover that my communication with her was not a dream.”

“Well, if we’re gone, then what difference does it make?” Scott asked as he looked at Paul, his face laced in determination. “You and I both know Patty, and we both know that she won’t tell anyone.”

“My concern is not for Patty, and whether or not she can be trusted. My concern is for Stephanie, and whether or not she can emotionally handle the information. It doesn’t mean I don’t trust her. Right now, Stephanie Zimmerman is coming out of a coma after trying to end her life. The truth may not be something that she can handle right now,” Paul said rationally.

“Okay fine, but what am I supposed to tell Patty? _‘Good bye’_?” Scott looked at his father. “I have to tell her something. You’ve spoken to Mrs. Zimmerman again about it and she’s closer to Stephanie than Patty is. What are you going to do if she asks you?”

“I’m rather hopeful that she won’t ask me,” Paul answered honestly.

“She will, though, and you know it,” Scott said. “Besides, the chances of Stephanie finding out that what she experienced wasn’t a dream is probably more likely with her mother than with her friend. Just let me talk to Patty, please.” Scott said softly. “Usually, you are the one who is quick to tell everyone about who you are. Usually, I’m the one who is opposed, but this time I have to say something. I don’t want to just pack up and leave, when I can be honest about why it is we’re leaving.”

“You know how I feel about this, Scott,” Paul whispered.

“I know, but Brad invited us to dinner at their house this evening, and I’d like it if we could go, maybe I can tell her something while we’re there,” Scott said. “I won’t tell her everything, but will you trust me to do what’s right?”

“Okay,” Paul conceded. “We can leave tomorrow, and you can say ‘good-bye’ tonight, but, I still don’t think it’s safe for you to tell her everything.”

Scott nodded sadly all the while knowing that whatever it was he would be doing that night, the result would ultimately be the same. He’d still have to give up another special person that he had found. It was not fair that they should have to leave another place he had grown so fond of, but that was their life on the run. He walked slowly away from his father, a disappointed look still shadowing his face. “Since we have to leave, I’m going to spend every moment I can with her.”  
  
---  
  
Within the hour, Stephanie had been moved into a new room and the group of friends had assembled there. Teresa had seated herself in a chair next to the bed; Brad and Mandy Fischer were standing next to the window. Thomas and Mabel Guthrie were seated in two other chairs that the nurse had brought in, and Paul was standing alone near the doorway. Scott and Patty had gone downstairs to get some flowers because they figured that that would make the room more cheerful.

When Patty and Scott returned to the room some ten minutes later, Patty handed a bouquet of flowers to Teresa and hugged Stephanie warmly. “I should have done that on Saturday,” she said after their hug ended.

“You wanted to?” Stephanie asked.

“Well, yeah, we’re friends, aren’t we?” Patty shot back, her eyes shining and her smile laced with relief.

Stephanie laughed softly as Scott approached the bed. “Hey,” he said. “I’m really glad that you are doing better. I was worried about you, we both were.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie said softly. When she saw the two other teenagers holding hands, she smiled at them.

Scott and Patty continued setting flowers up in the room as Thomas Guthrie approached the bed and looked down at her. “Now, girl, are we still going to see you around our neck of the woods or are you more interested in boys?” Mr. Guthrie’s voice boomed and everyone laughed.

Stephanie blushed and looked over at her mother and then at Patty, “I guess you will, Mr. Guthrie, but I think things are going to change a bit. Right, Mom? It’s just like we talked about.”

Teresa nodded. “Okay Sweetheart, but, you have to tell them what you want.”

“Well, the first thing I would like is to practice with Patty like I used to,” she said.

Patty glanced over towards Teresa as though asking permission. Once she saw the woman nodding, she began to jump up and down and hug Scott excitedly.

Stephanie looked at her coach. “Jake, I still want to train with you, though, just during the same times that Patty does. I wasn’t happy skating when I couldn’t be around Patty. I just think it would be more fun for me if I can skate with her, since she’s my best friend.”

Jake nodded, “that works for me, what about you, Gilda?”

The other coach nodded and smiled, “I have a funny feeling that the regional competition is going to be really interesting this year.”

The group laughed. Stephanie looked up at her mother, “Thanks, Mom.”

“I should be thanking you,” Teresa said to her daughter. After a few moments, she looked over at the group of people, and began to speak once again. “I never was very nice to any of you, but I would like to have a second chance to be friends.” She paused, and then looked at Stephanie’s coach. “Jake, I suddenly remember you said that the girls need to have friendships with one another when they skate, and I realize now that you were right and I was wrong. I was paranoid about how this would affect the rivalry between my daughter and Patty. I guess I’ve come realize that their friendship is so much more important than any competition.”

“That was why I took the job as Patty’s coach last year, Mrs. Zimmerman. Patty and her family had just moved into town and I thought that it would be nice to be able to introduce her to a new friend. That always makes settling in to a new home much easier. I had also seen the girls skating together during the ‘free skate’ and found the two of them to be quite comical together.” Gilda said.

“Call me Teresa, please.”

“Comical, this could be a grand idea,” Thomas Guthrie said. “How would it be if after the competition ends, that you two did an end of season routine for us? We could get some of the other kids involved too and it would be a fun way to highlight the season.”

“A fun program, you mean?” Patty asked, her eyes glowing.

The older man nodded.

“Oh that would be so much fun,” Stephanie squealed, “and I have just the idea, too.” She glanced over to see Paul still standing next to the door. When she saw him, her eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing. Instead she looked at her coach. “Jake, there’s something else, I don’t want to skate to _My Fair Lady_ for Regionals.”

Jake's smile disappeared. “You’ve been working on this program for months, Stephy. We only have a month to train for the competition, and now you want to change your music? It would never work, there’s not enough time to choreograph a new program. Just humor me and keep the program you’ve already got and use the idea for next year.”

Stephanie’s smile vanished, but Thomas Guthrie looked at her, a smile on his face. “Why don’t you compromise? You and Patty combine the idea for the exhibition program?” When he saw her smile return, he looked at her. “Now, you have sparked all our curiosity. What’s your idea?”

She smiled mysteriously, “I don’t know if it would work, but my mom can make the costumes, can’t you Mom?”

“It depends, what kind of costumes are you proposing?” Teresa asked.

“Do you remember that dark blue silk fabric you bought last year and was going to use for my 6th grade graduation gown?” Once Teresa nodded, Stephanie continued, “I was thinking you could use that and maybe get some silver trim for the skirt, and maybe find some different blue fabric with matching silver stars on it.”

“Where did you get that idea from, Stephy? It sounds like a costume from an episode of _Star Trek_?” Jake asked, smiling.

“Maybe, but I had this dream, it was amazing, and there was this blue light, and stars.” Stephanie said. “I guess that’s where the idea came from. But, I was thinking of using the music from _Close Encounters_.”

“Wow, what a cool idea,” Patty said. “I sure wish I could have such great dreams.” She looked over at Scott who carried an odd look on his face.

“Are you sure you really want to do this?” Teresa asked as she cast a sideways glance towards Paul who was still standing near the door of the room. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room, and finally Stephanie broke it.

“Oh, come on Mom, it’d be so great. Besides everyone knows that one can really get inspired by their dreams, right?” Stephanie asked as she sat up in bed.

Instead of waiting for Teresa to speak, Paul approached the bed. “I never got a chance to say anything to you since I came in,” he offered hoping to distract her from her idea.

She looked up and when she saw him, she smiled. “Hi,” she whispered. She was about to say something else to him when Teresa reached over and grabbed hold of her hand without saying a word. When she looked at her mother questionably, Teresa shook her head slightly. Stephanie said nothing more, but the confusion on her face seemed to ask more questions then she was capable of doing vocally.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I could really use something to eat,” Brad finally broke the silence. “Maybe we should all take off and let Stephy get some much needed rest.” He looked over at Patty and Scott, “Do you two want to come with me to the store?”

Both teenagers nodded, and finally Scott looked over at his father silently asking permission. When he got a reciprocating nod, he smiled broadly. Seconds later, the two of them approached the bed and Patty spoke. “I’ll come back tomorrow to visit,” Patty promised as she hugged her friend tightly.

“See you later,” Stephanie said as she yawned.

Scott offered a casual wave before following Patty out of the room. Moments later, Brad and Mandy said their ‘good-byes’ as well as reaffirmed that they would come with Patty to visit the following day. Once they left the room, Thomas and Mabel approached the bed.

“It’s probably time for you to get a little rest. It’s been a very exhausting day, hasn’t it?” Thomas said gently patting her hand. “We’ll try to pop by in a couple of days to see how you’re doing.”

“Thanks, Mr. Guthrie,” Stephanie offered.

“You take care of yourself,” Mabel said softly as she smiled down at the girl in the bed and squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll see you soon.”

Stephanie smiled, “I will, thanks for coming, I’m really grateful.”

Jake and Gilda also stood up to leave. “Teresa, are you going to stop by the Fischer’s later?” Gilda asked.

She shook her head. “No, I know that we’re all invited, but this has been the most stressful day of my life. The last thing I need to do right now, is a social gathering. I think I’d be better off if I go home, eat some soup, take a bath, and go to bed.”

“That’s understandable, you look exhausted,” Jake offered, noticing her haggard appearance. “Do you want me to drive you home?”

“No, I’m going to stay until visitors hours are over, and then I can call a cab. I don’t think I can drive tonight,” Teresa answered honestly.

“Are you sure we can’t do anything for you?” Gilda asked.

Teresa nodded weakly, “just explain to Brad and Mandy why I’m not there.”

Jake smiled, “I’ll tell them, but I’m sure they’ll understand.” His attention shifted to Stephanie. “Don’t ever scare us again like that, Stephy; we all care too much about you. We’ll always be here for you if you need us.” He squeezed her shoulder, and nodded to Paul.

The two coaches walked quietly out of the room, and Paul looked up and his gentle blue locked with Teresa’s as he sat down in one of the vacated chairs.

“Paul, can I ask you a question?” Stephanie’s voice suddenly broke into his thoughts.

He nodded.

“You’re probably going to think I’m strange, but I had a dream about you this afternoon. There was this blue light, and some strange object in my hand. I could see stars, and light. Then I heard a voice in my head asking me if I wanted to come back. It was like someone was standing next to my bed, and I could hear their voice,” Stephanie whispered, “Does that sound strange to you?”

Paul smiled weakly, “no, it doesn’t.”

“It was a dream but it felt so real,” she said softly. “That’s probably why I want to do the special show, the stars and blue material sort of remind me of how real it felt and that it was so beautiful.” She looked over at her mother who was listening intently. “I know it sounds weird.”

“Well, honey, what did you get out of your dream?” Teresa asked.

“I don’t know, it was strange, but it felt magical at the same time. It’s like that feeling you get when you watch a wonderful movie and realize that there’s something special about it, even though you know it’s only fantasy. It was so beautiful, but it still made me want to wake up. Then I heard you crying and I realized that I didn’t want to be the cause of your sadness.”

Teresa smiled at her daughter gently and hugged her, “you really are special, you know that?”

Paul looked over at the two of them but said nothing. He knew that Teresa was keeping her word. She would not even tell her daughter what had happened, and he started to wonder if keeping the truth away from the girl was the best option. Raising his head, he looked at Teresa and nodded his head.

After a few seconds of silence had passed between them, he spoke, “Stephanie did the object in your dream look like this?” He pulled the sphere from his pocket and showed it to her.

Upon seeing it, she looked up at him, her eyes were wide. “It wasn’t a dream, it was real,” she whispered.

“No, it wasn’t a dream,” Paul said gently.

She took the sphere from his outstretched hand and held it. After a second, she returned it to him. “Wow! This is so cool.” She looked at her mother. “Did you know about this?”

Teresa nodded, “yes, I wanted to tell you, but I made a promise to Paul, and I didn’t want to break it.”

Stephanie nodded but she looked up at Paul. “I knew there was something different about you from the first time I saw you at the rink. Is everything I saw the truth, the stars and the blue light?”

Paul nodded trying to put his thoughts into words. He did not want to frighten her, but he also realized that it was important for him to be honest with her.

“Wow, this is amazing, a real alien right here in Harrisburg. Who would have thought it was possible?” Stephanie said happily.

Teresa began to laugh, but managed to speak between her own giggles. “I think Stephy’s reaction is a bit better than mine, Paul.”

“Were you scared, Mom?” Stephanie asked.

“I was terrified,” Teresa said honestly. “I wasn’t so worried about myself, but I was afraid for you. I thought he was going to hurt you.”

“Many people are frightened, Teresa. I’m different, and they don’t understand how it is I can do things that they cannot.” He looked at Stephanie, “are you afraid of me?”

“I don’t have a reason to be afraid, do I?” she asked and once Paul shook his head, she continued. “You used your power to help me and if it weren’t for you, I would have died believing that my mother didn’t love me.” As she spoke, the emotional tears streamed down her cheeks and she tried to wipe them away.

“It wasn’t just me, Stephanie; it was your mother. Her love for you is what made you wake up. I only used the sphere so you could communicate your feelings to her.”

“Yeah, but you don’t know how stubborn she can be,” Stephanie said weakly.

Teresa looked at Stephanie frowning. 

“Face it Mom, you know it’s true,” Stephanie began to giggle despite her mother’s disapproving expression.

“Okay,” Teresa conceded, her frown breaking into a somewhat embarrassed smile.

“What’s going to happen now?” Stephanie asked softly.

“Scott and I have to leave,” Paul said honestly. “It’s far too dangerous for us to remain here now.”

Stephanie nodded, trying to accept his words. She could not deny the connection she had to this man, and now he was going to disappear from her life. She started to remember when her father walked out, and how she felt after he left. Remembering this, fresh tears began to stream down her cheeks once again.

Seeing this, Paul reached over and grabbed a tissue from the box on the bedside table. This he handed to her. “I’m sorry that our leaving makes you sad, Stephanie, but Scott and I have to go. Our safety is at stake, and Scott is so anxious to find his mother. We’re going to leave tomorrow morning. It probably would have been this afternoon, but I had to give him a chance to say ‘good-bye’ to Patty.”

“I think if she knew the truth, she’d understand,” Stephanie said softly.

“Perhaps, but I have to ask you to please not mention what I have told you to anyone, not even Patty,” Paul said softly. “I know that she’s your friend, but our safety is determined by as few people knowing as possible.”

The girl nodded, “I promise.”

Teresa raised her head. “Thank you, Paul. I knew that trying to keep this secret from Stephanie would not have been easy for me.”

He nodded, “I know, my son said the same thing to me this afternoon.”

“Is Scott really your son?” Stephanie asked.

Paul nodded and smiled, “Yes, his mother’s from Wisconsin. I met her the first time I was here. I fell in love with her, but because the government was after her after I left, she had to give Scott to strangers to raise him. I came back last year after his foster parents were killed, and then I found him alone and afraid. I told him who I was, but he didn’t believe me until he received a cassette tape from his mother with an explanation. Once he had heard it, he began to accept me. But, this was very difficult for him. He’s a teenager, and being who he is meant that he had to learn about his own identity, and to accept who and what he is.” Paul paused, remembering the events in Seattle. “At around the same time I returned, the government had learned that I was here and was in Seattle and they showed up there. With the help of a friend, we were able to get out of town without getting captured.”

“It sounds like the two of you really live life on the edge,” Stephanie said softly.

Paul nodded before he continued to speak. “We have had fun and I have learned what it means to be a father, but at times it is also hard. Scott has had to say ‘good-bye’ to so many friends and just recently, he missed out on seeing his mother.”

“That’s so sad,” Teresa said softly. “So that means you did find Scott’s mother?”

Paul nodded, “yes, but only briefly. He and I had gotten separated, and I found her. Right before he got to see her, the government showed up and we were captured. After a friend helped us escape, she feared getting caught and fled. When we found out she was gone, I used the sphere to recreate her, so that he could at least see how she looked and know that she loved him. We both knew that this wasn’t the same. Scott still has nightmares about what happened when we were captured and I don’t know if he will ever get over what had happened there. It's been about five months since we escaped.”

“That’s so awful,” Stephanie looked at him but reached out a hand, grabbed his, and pulled him towards her. Once he was close enough, she wrapped her arms around him and held him. “I swear, I’ll never say anything to anyone about this,” she promised as she buried her tearstained face against his shoulder.

Teresa nodded affirming her daughter’s words. She would also keep this unbelievable secret to herself as well.  
  
---  
  
Later that afternoon Patty and Scott arrived at the family’s house with Brad and Mandy. Once Patty’s parents left the two teenagers alone, they decided to pass the time watching movies.

Mandy disappeared into the kitchen and began preparing some food for the impromptu gathering while Brad went outside and started preparing the grill for barbecue. Once Scott had called his father at the hospital with directions to the house, he sat down next to Patty on the sofa and they started watching movies. Throughout the afternoon, he was contemplating what he was going to tell her.

As their friends began to arrive, late in the afternoon, Scott and Patty turned off the movie and Patty opened their CD cabinet, and began to pull out some music to play. After some time had passed, Paul had arrived. He had brought his camera, so that he could get some pictures of their friends for Scott to take with them.

Mandy came into the living room and greeted Paul upon his arrival. “Hi, we’re so glad you could come tonight. I have to put Erika in bed, but I’ll be back down in a few minutes. Make yourself at home.”

Paul nodded, as Mandy headed upstairs with the toddler. Patty, Paul and Scott were left alone.

Patty looked at Paul, “how’s Stephy?”

“She’s fine, I took Teresa home after Stephanie feel asleep, and then went to pick up the camera,” Paul said.

Scott remained silent.

At that moment, Mandy came back downstairs. “I’m going to need some help in the kitchen, any volunteers?” she asked with a good-natured smile on her face. At that moment, the doorbell rang and she rushed to answer it.

Once the door was opened, Thomas and Mabel Guthrie walked into the living room, their arms loaded down with boxes. Once they greeted Patty, Paul and Scott, they followed Mandy into the kitchen to leave the three boxes and bag of groceries there.

Upon leaving the hospital, Mabel had rushed home and baked some pies. Three of them along with whipped cream were placed on the counter in the kitchen. Thomas was putting plastic bottles of cola and juice into the refrigerator.

Once Gilda arrived, she too joined Mandy and the Guthries in the kitchen and began to show them how to make German style potato salad. “My mother used to make this for us when we were kids. She and my father came from Germany 40 years ago.” she explained to them as the doorbell rang once again.

Mandy went to open the door and Jake entered. He carried a bag full of potato chips and other snacks and walked into the kitchen to leave them on the table. When he returned, he opened the video cabinet and looked at Patty and Scott. “You guys want to watch a movie?”

Scott took a deep breath and instead of pondering what movie would be played next, he looked at the girl. “Patty, I really need to talk to you,” he said softly.

“Okay, why don’t we go outside? There’s a lake not too far from here. It’s pretty quiet, and we can talk there. Come on.” She turned to Jake, “we’ll be back in a little while; put in whatever movie you like. The other movies are in the cabinet under the TV.”

Jake nodded, “Okay, Patty, thanks.”

She took Scott’s hand and led him outside through the sliding glass door.

“Don’t be gone for too long, Patty,” Brad called out when he saw them make their way across the back yard and through the gate at the end of their property.

She nodded and called back over her shoulder, “we won’t.”

Once they were away from the house and beside the lake, Patty wrapped her arms around him and smiled. “You probably won’t believe me, but this is exactly how I had hoped things would turn out. I never imagined that my prayers could be answered.”

Scott sighed sadly. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. Finally, he just came out and said it, “Patty, my dad and I have to leave.”

“For how long?” she asked withdrawing her arms from around his shoulders, her smile disappearing.

“We’re not coming back,” Scott said sadly, his eyes showing more pain than he could say with his words.

“Why? Did your dad get another assignment or something?” she asked.

Scott shook his head. “No, we have to leave because...” his voice trailed and he looked at her, his eyes pleading with her to understand.

He had told his father that he would try not to say anything about their personal lives, but he knew that she would never understand unless he was able to tell her something. He could not bring himself to just disappear without a word. He could never do to her what he did to Kelly.

“Come over here and sit down,” she said pointing to a nearby bench. She could see the pain in his eyes, and although she could not understand why they were leaving, she knew that this was not easy for him. “Scott, how do you feel about me?” she asked gently when he slumped in his seat and said nothing.

Scott covered his face in his hands, and wiped the tears from his eyes. “I care about you so much,” he said softly.

“And you know leaving isn’t easy for either of us,” Patty said softly. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “So there’s no way you can stay. If it was something as simple as an assignment, then you could have stayed with us.”

He shook his head and looked at her. It’s easier to tell the truth than it is to lie to her. “Patty, it has nothing to do with an assignment. There’s something that I have to tell you, and I don’t even know where to begin.”

“How about at the beginning?” she asked as she hugged her arms against her chest. The lightweight jacket she was wearing was doing nothing to combat the cool March breeze.

“Okay, then would you believe it if I told you that I’m different?” _Oh boy, this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought._

“Well, yes, you seem different than most of the guys I’ve met. You’re interested in my love of skating, and you accept it like no one else I’ve ever met,” she said softly.

“Well, that’s easy, it’s a part of what I like about you,” Scott said as he shrugged his shoulders. “What I’m trying to say is I’m half alien.”

“Excuse me?” Patty looked at him skeptically wondering if she had heard correctly.

Scott sighed and finally pulled his sphere from his pocket and held the object tightly in his fist. “Do you remember when Stephanie was telling us about this ‘dream’ she had when we were at the hospital?”

“Yeah, she had this really great idea about doing a program with Close Encounters music and these really awesome costumes,” Patty said. “She said it had something to do with a dream she had.”

Scott shook his head. “It wasn’t a dream. Remember when I told you that my dad had a way with words that other people don’t?”

“Yeah, it sounded kind of weird. I mean what could your dad do that the rest of us couldn’t?”

“Believe me, he can do a lot. He has this ability, I have it too, but it’s not as defined in me as it is in him.” Scott opened his fist and exposed the sphere, which he had been holding. “He used this.”

“You had that in the park. You said it was a good luck charm,” Patty answered.

“It’s more than a good luck charm, Patty. It’s a part of my birthright. My father gave it to me.” He extended the object out towards her. “Here, take it. I didn’t tell the truth about it when I showed it to you earlier. My father used one to help Stephanie wake up.”

“He used a marble?” Patty asked skeptically. “Do you mean to tell me that you and your dad actually carry marbles around in your pockets?” When Scott’s gaze did not falter, she spoke again. “Come on Scott; get real. A birthright is like an estate, or jewels or something.”

“The birthright that I have is that sphere. My father came here from another world to help me. We’re trying to find my mom,” Scott said softly. “You may not believe me, but it’s the truth. That’s why I was scared of getting involved in a relationship. Meeting someone I care about and then having to leave is hard.”

“You’re telling me your father’s a ‘space cadet’,” Patty handed the sphere back to Scott and stood up. She started to walk away from the bench but before she was able to get away, he reached out and grabbed her hand.

As he held her hand in his, he stood up and faced her. “Doesn’t it seem kind of strange to you that after my father left and went into Stephanie’s room, she woke up?” Scott looked at her intently.

Patty shuddered, but after a few seconds, her voice could be heard over the tranquil sounds of the lake. “Actually, it does seem kind of weird.”

“I’m probably not explaining this very well, and my dad didn’t want me to tell you at all, but I have to. I mean I care about you, and I feel like it’s important to tell you the truth, not just disappear and hurt you.” Scott looked at her, but all he saw in her eyes was disbelief. 

“Scott, why do you have to tell me this? If you’re leaving, then what’s the point of telling me all this?” Patty sniffed and wiped her hand over her eyes. “Why can’t you just tell me the truth and not some story that comes straight out of a Science Fiction novel?”

“Because, it’s not Science Fiction, it’s the truth. If I had left without telling you anything, I would have hurt you. As your friend, I felt I owed you an explanation. I didn’t want to come here and say, ‘good-bye’. I wanted you to know why we have to leave, so you won’t have to wonder whether or not I cared for you.” Scott looked at her. “You don’t believe me, but what I told you is the truth.”

Patty sat back down on the bench, and covered her face in her hands and began to cry. “What you may not realize is that you are hurting me. I don’t know if it’s intentional or accidental, but it still hurts.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and continued to speak, her words coming out strong, but full of pain. “Maybe the only thing I should care about is my skating. Maybe Teresa was right in her treatment of other skaters, maybe there really is no one you can trust.”

Scott rested his hand on her shoulder. “No, you can’t close yourself off to other people because of this. I swear, I do care about you, and I’m telling you the truth. I’ll show you.” He was still holding the sphere, opened his fingers and held the object in the palm of his hand. Finally, he spoke, “look at it, Patty.”

He began to concentrate, but because of the emotional strain he was contending with, he could not activate the object in his hand. He closed his eyes for a second, and then attempted again. When he still could not get the object to glow, he sighed deeply. _She’s going to think I’m a liar,_ he thought to himself sighing sadly.

After some moments had passed, he heard a soft voice behind him. “Scott, it won’t work unless you concentrate all your energy on it.”

He turned around and saw Paul standing behind them. “You’re not mad at me, are you?” he asked his father softly. When Paul shook his head, he continued to speak. “I had to tell her something.”

“I know,” Paul said softly and came over and sat down on the opposite side of Patty. “Try again, Scott.” He paused and placed his hand on Patty's shoulder. “Patty, look at my son.”

Patty looked up, her face streaked with tears. When her gaze came to rest on Scott, she could see him deep in concentration. The sphere eventually began to glow, and for about five seconds, the three of them were bathed in light. But, when Scott looked over at her and saw her wide eyes, his concentration broke and the sphere returned to its natural state.

It was true. Patty looked from Paul to Scott. “You really are some creature from outer space then, just like he said?”

Paul nodded slowly, and Scott grimaced.

“So, what happened to Stephy wasn’t a dream, you really did something to save her life,” Patty said softly.

Paul shook his head, “no, her mother did. I only communicated with her through the sphere, Teresa did the rest.”

She looked over at Scott, shame covering her features. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, but it is such an amazing story. What made you decide to tell me?”

“I met a girl in California, and I really liked her. Then the government showed up, and we had to leave. I never got a chance to say good-bye to her, or explain why we were leaving,” Scott said. “I didn’t want to just take off and not tell you anything.”

“Then everything you said was the truth and you trust me with your secret,” Patty said softly.

Scott nodded as Paul began to speak. “There's a man from the government who has been chasing us, he knows who I am, and he poses a great threat to both of us. We have to leave if anyone finds out the truth about us. If we don’t, this man will find us and we will most likely spend the rest of our lives as prisoners.”

“How awful for you both,” Patty whispered compassionately. “And you used your sphere to help Stephy even though it posed a danger to you. I can’t believe it. That's the most selfless thing I have ever heard in my life.”

Paul smiled gently. “I only did what I had to do.”

Patty began to wring her hands together. She looked down at her lap. “All my life, I’ve wondered if people could really give so much to help others. I mean; most people who are humanitarians end up sacrificing their lives to do these good deeds. I’ve always dreamed of meeting such a person, and now I have.”

Paul’s eyes widened, “you see me in this way?”

Patty nodded and looked up at him. Then she looked at Scott. “I think you both are so special, that I can’t even understand how someone would even believe for an instant that you’re a threat. If more people cared for others the way you do, then maybe there wouldn’t be wars and so much awful stuff happening here.”

Paul felt the heat rush to his cheeks and when Patty looked up at him, she saw him blushing. She giggled in spite of herself.

When Scott looked at his father, he began to laugh. “That’s my dad, there’s nothing egotistical about him.”

Patty nodded once her giggles subsided, “but it’s true.” She glanced up to see the stars beginning to peek out. “I always wondered if there was intelligent life out there, now I know there is. But, I think that guy from the government probably has seen too many movies about alien invasions. He must have if he thinks you’re dangerous.”

Scott snickered, “I remember saying something to that effect once.”

They all laughed and Paul stood up. “Scott, I’m going back inside, Brad said that the hamburgers are about ready, so come back in a few minutes, okay?”

Scott nodded.

“Paul, before you go, I want to give you a hug,” Patty said softly, but added with a mischievous giggle. “I mean it’s not everyday I get to hug an alien.”

Paul nodded and wrapped his arms around her. “You take care of yourself, Patty, and take care of Stephanie.”

“I will, and I promise I won’t tell anyone what you told me,” Patty said as he walked back in the direction of the house.

Once they were alone, Patty blushed. “Will you forgive me?”

“Yeah,” Scott looked at her and smiled. “I guess I wouldn’t have believed me either. I’ve never told anyone, except once and that was because my dad was sick and couldn’t. He’s told people before though and he’s a bit better at spilling the beans than I am.”

“It must be hard living life on the road, huh?” Patty asked.

Scott nodded, “sometimes it’s a lot of fun. But, sometimes I wish that I could be a normal kid, go to school, run track, and have the things that most people take for granted.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. The skating is a lot of fun, but it does have its drawbacks. I mean, I’m in school, but I can’t join clubs, or go to football games like everyone else. I have training, and I have to get ready for competitions. During the summer, I train six days a week,” Patty said. “I’ve been really dedicated to the sport since I was five years old, and I’m not ashamed of that, but most people our age don’t understand the commitment to it.”

“I can imagine,” Scott offered. “Do you know that I have attended twelve schools in the last year in eight different states? I couldn’t get involved in sports or clubs either, because I’m always afraid that Fox will show up and then we’ll have to leave.”

“Fox? Is that the guy chasing you?” Patty asked.

“Yeah, earlier this year, I was running in a track meet. I saw him; he was getting out of a car. I thought I was going to die. I had to run as fast as I could to a fence, which separated the school’s track from the street. There was a part in the fence that was busted and I had to drop out of the Cross Country race to go and warn my dad. We had to leave really quickly, and I was really angry at him about it. I mean, I actually told him that I wished he hadn’t come back. Boy, I regret saying that now. It was the stupidest thing I ever said,” Scott said.

“Your dad is really wonderful though. I mean he cares so much more for others than he does for himself. There aren’t too many people like that around here.”

“I know what you mean, and I guess that’s why I really hated that I had said that,” Scott said. “He didn’t deserve it.”

“We all make mistakes. I didn’t believe you until I saw with my own eyes what you did,” Patty said softly.

Scott rested his hand on hers, “Don’t worry, Patty.” He leaned over and kissed her gently.

She smiled at him once the kiss ended. “What’s it like with your dad?”

“It’s really great that I have him. Foster parents raised me, and having my real dad is really special. I mean before he came back, I felt like a jigsaw puzzle with a few pieces missing. I didn’t know anything about my father until last year. I had grown up believing that my dad was a dead house painter. Then suddenly, I find out that my dad is an ET and it’s a bit hard to accept.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to have those roots and to be able to do what you did,” Patty said softly. “I think I would be scared.”

“Actually, I dropped the sphere on the ground and ran away the first time I saw it. I was really scared of it. This was before I got the tape from my mom which explained everything.”

“Wow, that’s really amazing,” Patty said softly. “One of the things I noticed is that your dad seems to not always understand things. Do you ever try to take advantage of that?”

“Yeah, all the time,” Scott said impishly. “He calls it being ‘slick, and I rarely get away with it anymore. When he first came back, I told him that in Washington, going to school was optional.”

“And he believed you?”

“Yeah, he did. It was so funny. I told him it was required that kids go to school in California. He looked at me and asked which way it was to California. The thing is everything here is new to him, but he’s also wise about so many things too,” Scott said.

“Like when you're trying to buffalo him?” Patty asked grinning.

Scott nodded grinning sheepishly, “yeah, but he teaches me about the universe, and other things like that. I’ve gotten really interested in Astronomy as a result. I even told your dad that’s what I’m going to study when I go to college.”

“It must be weird, though, you suddenly start feeling like the parent yourself,” Patty offered.

“Sometimes I do, but I love him more than anything. He’s all I got, at least until we can find my mom and we can be a family,” Scott said sadly.

“I hope you do find your mom. I guess that’s part of the reason you’re leaving too. The chances of her being in Harrisburg are a million to one.”

“We’re leaving tomorrow morning,” he said sadly.

“You shouldn’t be sad about that, Scott. I mean, I’ll miss you terribly, but I think if my mom was missing, I’d have to look for her until I found her. I wish there was a way that I could stay in touch with you, though,” Patty said.

“There isn’t,” he said softly. “I guess it’s like what happens in the witness protection thing, except my name isn’t changed.”

“Just promise me one thing,” Patty said as she looked at him.

“What?” he asked his question immediate.

“Promise me that if things ever change with that government guy, that you’ll come back and see us.” As she spoke, the tears began to stream down her cheeks as she looked back at him.

Scott took her hand and squeezed it tenderly. “I promise.”

She threw her arms around him. No more words were spoken.

“Hello?” Brad’s voice interrupted some five minutes later.

“Daddy,” Patty looked up.

“Did you two want something to eat?” he asked.

Scott nodded and offered his hand to Patty. She accepted and they stood up together, and followed Brad back to the house. Neither of them spoke.

Once back inside the house after Paul and Scott had eaten some of the food the Fischers had prepared, he gave Scott the look. It was time to say ‘good-bye’.

Scott walked over to Patty, where she was sitting on the sofa, eating a plateful of salad. Upon seeing him coming towards her, she sat the plate on the coffee table and stood up. “I guess this is it, huh?”

He nodded, “yes, we have to go now. Do you want to walk with us outside?”

She nodded and turned to Jake and Gilda, who were sitting down near where she was. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She said to them and followed Scott towards the door.

Outside on the porch, Paul and Scott stood as she approached them. “The others don’t know you’re leaving,” she said softly, trying to keep the tears at bay.

Paul nodded, “I want to thank you, Patty.”

“I don’t know what for, but you’re welcome.” She smiled weakly despite the tears, which continued to stream down her cheeks.

They walked slowly down the steps, which would lead to their pick-up, which was parked along the quiet street. Paul reached the door of the pick-up, opened the door and laid the camera bag inside. He turned around and stopped when he saw her tears. “This is very difficult for you, isn’t it?”

She nodded, unable to speak. She knew that if she did, that she would begin to cry uncontrollably.

Paul rested his hands on her shoulders, “I’m sorry.” He looked in her eyes. “I wish we could stay.” This time, he wrapped his arms around her and held her in a comforting hug.

After feeling the embrace of her friend, she allowed herself to cry.

Once her crying subsided and she was wiping the tears from her eyes, Paul released his embrace with her, and looked down at her. “You know, I’ll be looking for you, every time I pick up a newspaper, and see a figure skater.” He smiled at her gently and continued to speak. “You’ll be in both of our thoughts. Maybe one day when you are skating in a new city, you’ll look up and see us watching.”

Patty nodded, and gave Scott a final hug and kiss. “I’ll be looking then.”

She watched as the two of them got in the truck and drove away. After they were gone, she looked up at the stars, and sighed deeply. Somehow, she knew that it would have been selfish to expect them to stay. By letting go, she felt that she had done the same type of selfless act that Paul had done. She smiled secretly to herself as Mandy came outside.

“Hey, isn’t it a bit chilly for you to be out here without a jacket on?” The woman came over to her and placed Patty's jacket on her shoulders.

“Actually, I didn’t really think about it.” Patty looked at her mother. “Mom, do you believe that there’s life among the stars?”

“I don't know, but where did that come from?” Mandy asked.

“Probably because I started thinking about Stephy’s dream and the costumes for the exhibition,” Patty said smiling secretly.

Mandy smiled at her daughter. “You know what? Ever since you were little, you couldn’t talk about too much without turning the conversation back to figure skating?”

“Oh come on Mom, I’m not that bad.”

Mandy laughed but when she noticed that her daughter’s attention had diverted back onto the black velvet sky, she looked at her daughter thoughtfully. “The sky is really beautiful tonight, isn’t it?”

Patty nodded, “yeah, it looks almost like you could reach out and touch it.”

“Let’s go back inside, the Guthries, Jake and Gilda are still here, and Mabel said that we can cut some pieces of her pies now.”

“Oh Mom, you know I have to watch my diet. I don’t want to be Atilla the Hun on ice,” Patty whined, remembering how she had eaten so much barbeque.

“One small piece of pie isn’t going to make you look like Atilla the Hun,” Mandy sighed as she led her daughter towards the front door. “Besides, Dutch apple pie is one of the best pies ever made. From what I heard, Mabel Guthrie’s pies are so good that most people would travel across the galaxy to have a wedge. Our friend Paul ate three slices.”

Patty began to giggle; the irony of the statement almost too much for her. _This must have been a real novelty for him,_ she thought to herself, her hand covering her lips to stifle her amusement.

“What's so funny?” Mandy asked as she opened the door.

“Nothing, Mom, but since you insist, I’ll have a piece of that pie, but only one,” Patty smiled following her mother inside and closing the door.  
  
---  
  
That night, Paul and Scott packed their belongings. Once Scott finished, he found a magazine on the coffee table. He knew that his father had brought it home from his work place because there was a picture of a figure skater on the cover. He liked the cover because the woman looked as though she had the world in her hands.

Paul came over to his son, but noticed that he was staring at the cover. “Scott, I’m really sorry about what happened.”

“It’s not your fault,” Scott said, his voice cracking.

“I know, but you deserve to have friends like any other teenager,” Paul said gently. “If Fox wasn’t always a threat to us, I would have suggested that we stayed here for a few days.”

Scott nodded, “I know, but I’m still thinking about Mom, and even Patty said that we should continue looking for her.”

“Patty’s a really caring girl,” Paul said softly.

“Yeah, she is,” Scott said as he ran his hand over the magazine cover. “You know what? I just know that one day we’ll see her again, even if it’s only on TV. Maybe even in the Olympics.”

Paul nodded. “I think so too.”

“So where are we heading tomorrow?” Scott asked.

“I don’t know, I thought maybe we could head south,” Paul responded.

“Yeah whatever you think is best.” Scott grabbed the magazine and stuffed it inside his duffel bag. “Do you think Fox is going to show up here?”

“He might.”

“You know, I have a feeling he will, but we’re going to be long gone by the time he does.” Scott smiled mischievously, but his expression became earnest. “Dad, I guess I should have said something to you before now. I really regret saying I wish you hadn’t come back when we were in San Leon.”

“I know,” Paul said softly and smiled. “I knew that when I woke up and discovered what you had done for me when I was sick.”

Scott smiled weakly, “I’m really lucky to have you.” he offered picking up his bag and putting it on the couch.

Paul nodded, “all we have is each other, Scott. When we find your mother, then we’ll be a family. That’s the main reason we have to leave, I want to us to find Jenny.” He paused and dropped his bag on the floor. “Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be here pretty quickly as it is.”

Scott nodded and picked up his father’s duffel bag and sat it on the couch next to his. He smiled weakly when he started to think about Patty and Stephanie. He wondered if their futures as skaters would be as bright as he hoped. This was a world he had never really known, but it was something he had learned a great deal about. These past few days were some of the most interesting he had ever experienced.

 _I wonder who will win the regional competition,_ he thought to himself. In a month it would take place, and he and his father would be long gone. They would probably be taking part in something else new and different. He sighed deeply and walked down the hall towards the bedroom.

**Epilogue**

Two months later, Patty Fischer and Stephanie Zimmerman were getting ready to perform their exhibition. Both girls had skated in the regional competition and Patty was still on top of the world after winning in her division. Stephanie had come in third, but she couldn't have been more pleased with her performance.

Against Jake’s advice, she had changed her program, and wore one of the dresses her mother had designed, the dark blue taffeta with stars and a silk skirt etched in silver. In one month, she pulled off a new program, and pulled third place. Jake was astounded with this turn of events and he promised her that next year, she would be able to compete in the Junior Division with a similar program, but modified for the more competitive division.

Because of the many challenges she had had with this particular contest, the newspaper interviewed her and published a long story about her. It had been published two weeks before and Teresa had the article framed and hung in the living room of their home.

Now, she stood next to her best friend, her smile genuine, her life changed. Her mother was sitting in the stands with Patty’s parents, and when Stephanie looked up and saw her mother waving at her, she waved back.

Patty came out of the dressing room as two men wearing suits walked inside the ice rink. She held two small pouches in her hand, but turned around when one of the men addressed her.

“Excuse me, Miss. Are you Stephanie Zimmerman?” The man was short, with thinning hair.

Patty shook her head, but answered, “no, but I know Stephy, she’s my best friend. Why?”

“I need to speak to her immediately. Where is she?” the man asked.

“Well, she’s getting ready to go on, we both are,” Patty said softly. “If you want, I can get her for you after we skate. This exhibition is really important to her.”

The man nodded, “what’s your name?”

“Patty Fischer,” she answered.

The man nodded, “okay. We’ll be waiting for you after your program is over.”

“Thanks,” Patty turned to leave, but not before she heard the other man address the shorter man.

“Mr. Fox, I’m going to get something to eat at the concession stand, do you want a cup of coffee or something?” The taller man pulled some change from his pocket.

Patty did not hear the reply from Fox; instead, she rushed over to where Stephanie was standing and waiting for her. “Stephy, I got a present for you.”

“What is it?” Stephanie asked.

Patty handed her a small blue pouch and she opened it. When her eyes came to rest on a small silver ball, she looked up at Patty, a surprised look on her face.

“You knew?” Stephanie asked.

Patty nodded, “Scott told me the day before they left. But, we have a problem. The guy that’s after them is here, and he wants to talk to you. I guess he read about you in the paper, because that’s the only reason he’d know that you’d be here today. I heard his associate call out his name, and Scott mentioned his name when he told me; that’s how I knew.”

Stephanie nodded. “We just need to be careful about how much we tell them.” She laid the marble gently back inside the small pouch.

“Those guys are government officials. If we say too much, we could get into trouble,” Patty said as she gripped her pouch with both hands.

“Patty, Stephy, we’re ready.” Thomas Guthrie called out. “Are you ready?”

Both girls nodded. With pouches in hand, the two girls waited for their introduction.

“Here for a special end of season exhibition skate, Novice Regional Champion Patty Fischer, and Third place Regional winner, Stephanie Zimmerman,” Thomas called out. The spectators in the stands cheered as both girls skated out onto the ice.

Stephanie closed her eyes, this was what figure skating was supposed to mean to her. She held the pouch tightly in her hand. When she opened her eyes once again, she could see her friends and mother in the stands. “Thank you, Paul,” she whispered under her breath.

Patty skated over to her and nudged her arm. When she turned around, Patty was smiling. “Let’s do it. I’ve known since they left that you’ve wanted to do this program, and I don’t think this guy’s presence should make a difference.”

Stephanie smiled, and both girls removed the spheres from their pouches as the music started. As they glided across the ice, they held their special secrets in the palms of their raised hands. At the end of the program, both girls returned their keepsakes to the pouches and both attempted a triple Loop. The crowd cheered loudly when both girls landed the jump successfully. Tears streamed down Patty’s cheeks as she landed the jump better than all the other times before.

They held the spheres close to their hearts as the music ended about thirty seconds later. As Stephanie cradled the object in her hands, she began to cry, and when Patty reached her, they shared a triumphant embrace. Together they stood in the middle of the ice as the people applauded. Nothing could have replaced that moment. Moments later the two girls put the spheres back into the pouches and skated off the ice.

The man and his assistant approached them the second they had left the ice. Mandy Fischer handed her daughter a tissue, and headed back into the stands where Brad and Teresa were sitting.

“Interesting program, girls,” the man said.

“Thank you,” Stephanie answered happily, but soon her expression became serious. “I’m Stephanie Zimmerman. Patty said you wanted to talk to me about something?”

“Yes. We read about you in the paper, and wanted to ask you a few questions. Is it true that you recently woke up from a coma?” the man asked.

Stephanie nodded, “yes, it’s true and while I was asleep, I had the dream that inspired this program.”

“A dream?” the taller of the two men asked.

“Yes, actually, that’s the weird thing. I had this dream about a month or so ago, and thought it would be fun to put together a Science Fiction type of program,” Stephanie said and added, “I did this program at the Regional competition and won third place with it.”

“Impressive,” the taller of the men said.

“Where did you get the idea with the marbles?” the short man asked.

“Oh that was my idea,” Patty said covering for her friend. “I wanted to try something different, so when my father and I went to the hardware store the other day, I asked him to get them for us.” She giggled. “He thought I had lost my marbles, but it just seemed to go perfectly with the costumes. Don’t you think?” She pulled the marble from its pouch and held it in the palm of her hand in front of the costume she wore.

The man nodded, “I see, and why did you decide to use marbles, and not plastic stars, or something else?”

“Why are you asking us all these questions?” Patty asked. “We don’t even know who you are.”

“George Fox, Federal Security Agency,” the man said as he produced his identification. His assistant did the same and the two girls discovered that the taller man was named Benjamin Wylie.

Patty looked at the badge and nodded. “We’re awfully sorry if we appear rude, Mr. Fox, Mr. Wylie, but neither of us ever saw you around here before. Isn’t it kind of strange to be asking such serious questions about a figure skating program? I think you and your associate are here for other reasons besides our costumes and the fact that we carried marbles out on the ice.”

Stephanie nodded as well, “yeah, what gives?”

“Do either of you know Paul Forrester or Scott Hayden?” Fox asked directly.

“Yes, they were here about two months ago, wasn’t it Patty?” Stephanie asked.

Patty nodded, “yeah, too bad they left, Scott was really cute.”

Stephanie looked at her friend as though she was joking. “Yeah,” she snorted, “if you like the type.” She looked at Fox but then glanced back over at her best friend. “Can you believe that bum; he actually said that he didn’t think figure skating was a real sport?”

Patty looked at her friend. “Yeah, but you should have seen him on the ice. What a klutz.”

Fox looked at the two girls. “Do either of you know if they are still in town?”

“No, they left about as quickly as they came,” Patty offered honestly.

“Do you know where they went?” Fox asked.

Patty shook her head, and Stephanie did the same. “They left pretty suddenly. But, Paul had worked here for a while, I think. Since he’s a freelance photographer, I was told they travel a lot so he can get assignments,” Patty answered. “He even photographed the citywide competition, which is how we met them.”

“After the competition ended, I only saw them one other time and then they disappeared. I didn’t really think about it too much after they left. We had to get ready for the Regional Competition, and that was the only thing we were thinking about.”

“When was the city competition?” Wylie inquired.

“About two months ago, I think,” Stephanie answered. “I haven’t seen either of them since. Have you Patty?”

Patty shook her head, “no, sorry.”

Fox nodded, “okay then, let me give you my card for my office in Washington. If you see either of them again, please contact me, it’s very important.”

The two girls nodded and accepted the cards he offered. Finally, the two men turned and walked away. Once they were outside and the glass door had closed behind them, both Patty and Stephanie sighed with relief. They walked over to the glass window that separated the interior of the rink and the parking lot. Once they had gotten into a car and driven away, both girls began to laugh.

After some seconds passed and their giggles had subsided, Stephanie looked at her friend. “Patty, why didn’t you tell me you knew about Paul and Scott? I have been spending the last two months wanting to tell you, but I was afraid to break the promise I made.”

“I promised Paul and Scott that I wouldn’t mention it. I wanted to talk to you about it, too, but I wasn’t sure if you knew. Then I got the idea about the marbles. I figured that if I gave you one of the marbles then you would either know the significance of it or not. If you didn’t then, you would have accepted it as a weird gift from a friend and nothing more.” Patty smiled. “By giving you this, I figured that I wouldn’t have broken the promise I made.”

“It’s really incredible, isn’t it? They saved my life, and they changed everything with my mom,” Stephanie said smiling. “If it hadn’t have been for them, I probably wouldn’t be here today.”

“But you are here, and no matter where they are, the friendship they share with us will always be a part of them, and us,” Patty said smiling.

Stephanie smiled and pulled the sphere from the small pouch. The tears began to stream down her face as she looked over at the railing where she had first seen the photographer standing two months before. She remembered how his blue eyes looked at her with compassion and sympathy after she had skated. As she looked down at the object that now rested in her hands, and back over at her best friend. She knew that without the intervention of this friend from another star she would not be where she is today. 

THE END  
  
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Dear Reader,

The story you have read would never have been possible without the help of my friend, David Walker. David, a former competitor and coach, provided many of the technical facets used in the story to make it more realistic. The information regarding the jumps, and the levels of skating is accurate, as well as the information about competitions and the lengths of the programs. I've included some of his information regarding the psychological aspects of the sport, which are described in the two cases here. Using the information he provided, I was able to piece together some ideas of what might happen during training sessions, the commitments skaters make, and various small technicalities which I probably would not have found had I not inquired.

I did however make a couple of ascertains which are false. I used these in order to maintain an element of flow in the story. First of all, the local figure skating competitions are not depicted as they are on television. According to David, rather than announcing the scores and ranks, as they do during the Olympics, or National Competitions, they post them on a bulletin board. The announcing of the scores for the ‘Novice Division’ was done in order to inform the reader that Stephanie desired friendship with Patty, which is why this inconsistency is present. Secondly, Medals for all events are awarded at the end of the competition once all the events are finished. When I started the story, I assumed that it was after each event as depicted on TV, and kept it this way because Scott and Paul had been invited to lunch with the Fischers, and I did not wish to change the entire beginning of the story when this inconsistency was brought to my attention.

I also concluded that Paul and Scott would not have been present at the competition unless Paul had some press assignment there. In this rewrite of the story, I had Paul working at a local paper which does cover local events. This would give leeway as to why a photographer might be present at the competition. I also needed to find a way to have the characters meet and bringing Paul in as a job assignment was a really good way to accomplish this.

The cases of Patty Fischer and Stephanie Zimmerman are fictional circumstances. If they resemble anything real that has or had happened, this is purely coincidental. Unfortunately, these extremities of psychological pressures by parents or coaches probably do exist in the world of figure skating today. Many skaters probably are not as determined as Patty was without the element of pressure by her family or coach. Her determination was strictly unique to her character.

Finally, Scott’s presence at Patty’s training session probably would not have happened in real life either. However, presenting this to you, gave me the opportunity to use David’s information regarding the distinguishing characteristics of the jumps.

I hope you enjoyed the story. 

Yvette J.


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